New Delhi: Former Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said Kerala’s earlier experience with the Nipah virus outbreak played a crucial role in the state’s effective handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at an event organised by the Business & Community Foundation (BCF) at the India International Centre in Delhi, Shailaja noted that the familiarity with public health protocols such as quarantine and isolation helped the state respond swiftly and decisively during the pandemic.

Sharing her experiences as Health Minister, she stressed that Kerala’s strong public health system and consistent government investment in health and education since 1957 laid the foundation for its pandemic response. “Where governments invest in public health, people benefit,” she said.

Shailaja highlighted the collaboration between the public and private sectors during the crisis. “Private hospitals also provided facilities at the government’s request,” she said, contrasting this with other states. She recalled how Maharashtra’s minister once expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation from private hospitals there.

She also criticised the exclusionary approaches taken in other states during the pandemic. “Health work is not just about treatment, it is a social service. The government has to ensure that everyone gets treatment. Some countries and states have taken the approach of excluding the elderly, even when there was a shortage of oxygen cylinders during the COVID period and in the distribution of vaccines. Kerala has treated everyone equally,” she said.

The session was moderated by Dr. Mathew Varghese and presided over by Prof. KT Raveendran.