In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss the anti-vaccine statements made by Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation. The hosts are joined by Dr PV Ramesh IAS, and Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor with more than two decades of experience. 

Dhanya begins the discussion by recalling Sridhar Vembu’s recent tweets linking autism and vaccination. She cites examples of studies pulled down for inaccuracy earlier, linking vaccination in children with the development of autism. 

“While big pharmaceutical companies thrusting vaccination on us is a problem, it is not the same as spreading fear about vaccination itself,” she says. She then asks Ramesh why he felt he should push back against Sridhar Vembu’s tweets.

“The biggest blessing of science that has saved millions of lives across the world is vaccinations. In our country, where communicable disease burden continues to be high, it is so important to vaccinate. Before a vaccine is introduced, it goes through a rigorous process of scrutiny. Vaccination protocols are laid down after intense research and trials. So, people who have a platform in society, like Sridhar, can spread dangerous misinformation that is detrimental to the future of our children,” he says.

He adds that global studies have continuously debunked Sridhar’s claims that link vaccination and autism. “Resurrecting a dead idea is dangerous. This is not a matter of opinions or free speech. This is misinformation that is not supported by empirical data or research. Childhood neurodevelopment challenges are being recorded, yes. But there needs to be more research into them and ways to tackle them,” he says.

Pooja says that Sridhar’s tweets were irresponsible and that had he not been in the right wing’s fold, he could have been arrested. “He is trying to push a right-wing conservative narrative, pushed in the US, especially during COVID. In India, where living conditions are dangerous, it can be catastrophic. Doctors cannot be attacked on social media by millionaires with no medical education,” she adds.

Sylvia says that putting out a stance by anyone should come with accuracy. 

“In India, we have been part of the vaccination programmes, and people have been welcoming, especially in villages that remain inaccessible. Vaccines like rabies are important because their absence can lead to fatalities. Several such vaccines have eradicated deadly diseases and even eliminated some. Concerns about vaccines have been increasing, and they must be addressed. For example, several women said COVID-19 vaccines affected their menstrual cycles. Those need to be addressed. So it is important to revive people’s faith in medicine by holding systems to account, but that does not mean we negate the need for vaccines,” she points out.

In the second part of the discussion, the hosts and guests delve into the efforts of several governments, including Karnataka, to implement a PPP model in the health education sector. 

“There are several things here. Firstly, what is the role of the government? It ought to ensure that citizens are provided with essential public goods, like nutrition, education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. Medical education in developed countries is publicly run. In India, we exclude people so we do not need to cater to them. In 78 years, we have not committed to providing universal healthcare. In the name of downsizing the government, we have axed social sector programmes. Medical education is an amalgam of several aspects, and the government must own colleges and run them. In PPP, the only contribution of the government is the land. The private player can sell seats at a price, earn money and treat the enterprise like a hot commodity,” says Ramesh.

He says this is a negative public policy which needs to be opposed.

Dhanya points out that Karnataka has seen protests against the government’s move to transfer medical colleges to the private sector. 

“I think that health as a human right is being lost in all of this. Karnataka has been a lab for privatisation. It is a system with all rights for the private player with zero accountability,” says Sylvia. “What we see is that if you want to bring in a private player, there should be a systematic breakdown of the public system,” she adds.

Dhanya quickly asks Sylvia for a response to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement about how the government should push for vegetarianism.

“Technically, milk and dairy are still animal-source foods and therefore, even vegetarianism is not entirely 'pure’ in that sense. But what happens is that the poor do not have access to nuts or paneer and other proteins in the absence of accessible proteins like eggs and meat. Such statements criminalise nutrient-dense foods, depriving children of eggs in schools. In fact, research says what people eat traditionally is good. It is only the middlemen like Mohan who push this narrative of vegetarianism,” Sylvia points out.

Pooja says that the sense of meat being a product of violence also deprives several people of choice as well as nutrition.

“I have travelled in several African countries, but I have never seen the level of malnutrition as we see in our country. This is solely related to the taboos of food consumption that we harbour,” says Ramesh.

Tune in to the discussion here.