Kerala gearing up to tackle third wave; aims at local manufacture of drugs and safety equipment, preliminary discussions begin

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is gearing up to tackle the third wave of Covid-19. As part of this, the government is aiming at locally manufacturing the drugs and safety equipment needed for the state. Preliminary discussions in this regard were held today between the Health and Industry Departments.

The government aims to ensure the availability of safety equipment and medical equipment such as gloves, masks, and PPE kits during the third wave of Covid. The Department of Industry has decided to start a Medical Equipment and Devices Park for the availability of medical equipment and devices.

Minister Veena George said it would be a great achievement to be able to domestically manufacture the safety and medical equipment required for the health sector as the second wave saw a shortage of many safety devices with many factories in other states being shutdown due to COVID-19.

George said that if more of the necessary medicines could also be produced in the state, it would reduce the cost of procuring it from outside Kerala and would also benefit the health sector here.

Presently, on an average, only 10 percent of the drugs required for the state are manufactured in Kerala and the remaining 90 percent is bought by KMSCL from other states, she said in the release.

It has been decided to form a committee comprising the Principal Secretaries of the Department of Health and Industries and the Managing Directors of KMSCL and KSDPL for further action.