Kerala has completed administering the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 80% of the eligible population, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on September 15, Wednesday. The CM, at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, said that over 32% of the population eligible for vaccination have received both jabs of the vaccine. More than 64% of the total population in the state has completed the first dose of the vaccination. He said that 3,18,74,864 (3.18 crore) doses of vaccines have been administered so far, among which, 2.28 crore were first doses and 90.54 lakh were second doses. He said the state government's endeavour was to ensure that all those above 18 years of age are administered the first dose of vaccine by the end of September and both doses in two to three months time.
Speaking to the media about the COVID-19 situation in the state, the CM said that there was an increase in the number of people who were reaching hospitals late after getting infected by COVID-19 and that this trend was not heartening or encouraging. He further said that a large percentage of the people who died due to COVID-19 were unvaccinated and since there was a significant number of persons above the age of 60 years who had not yet been inoculated, they should get both doses of the vaccine.
He said that despite being vaccinated, people were getting infected and though such individuals may not be severely affected by the virus, they could spread it to others who are unvaccinated. Therefore, even those who are vaccinated should follow COVID-19 protocols like wearing masks and maintaining physical distance, he said. He said a sero prevalence study being carried out in the state to assess the extent of infection is expected to be completed by the end of September.
PTI Inputs