Wayanad first Kerala district to give first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults

Wayanad became the first district in Kerala to vaccinate its adult population with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Health Minister Veena George said that the district has vaccinated all persons above 18, except those who have recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, people in  quarantine and those who refused to get vaccinated. More than 6.16 lakh people out of the targeted 6.51 lakh persons have received the first dose of vaccination in the district, while over 2.13 lakh people have received the second dose which is 31.67% of the district’s population.

Wayanad had organised vast vaccination campaigns to achieve this. Special mega campaigns were conducted to vaccinate 1,00,000 people a day. To cover rural villages, special mobile vaccination units were arranged. There were 28 such mobile units that covered tribal hamlets.

The Health Department said that they were able to vaccinate 636 bedridden patients by visiting houses. The Health Minister appreciated the district administration health workers, Asha workers, Tribal Department and Kudumbasree workers for this achievement.

On Sunday, August 15, 497 people tested positive in Wayanad district. The test positivity rate has increased to 20.07%. Currently 6616 people are under treatment in the district with 5123  in home isolation. So far in the district, 6,47,284 people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

Kerala on Sunday reported 18,582 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total infection count to 36.69 lakh, as the total number of people who have died due to COVID-19 rose to 18,601 with 102 additional deaths. As many as 20,829 people have recovered since Saturday, taking the total recoveries to 34,92,367. The number of active cases in the state rose to 1,78,630, a state government release said. In the last 24 hours, 1,22,970 samples were tested and the TPR was found to be 15.11%.