Thiruvananthapuram: Offering a temporary relief from the severe shortage of COVID-19 vaccine faced by Kerala, 9,72,590 doses arrived in the state on Wednesday. According to the state’s Health Minister Veena George, 8,97,870 doses were Covishield vaccine and 74,720 doses Covaxin.
While as many as five lakh doses of Covishield arrived in Ernakulam on Wednesday evening, 1,72,380 doses had reached there earlier in the day. Meanwhile, 77,220 doses landed at Kozhikode.
The Covaxin doses delivered in Kerala are 25,500 at Thiruvananthapuram; 28,740 at Ernakulam and 20,480 at Kozhikode. According to the minister, 1,48,270 doses of Covishield arrived in Thiruvananthapuram late on Wednesday night.
More doses needed
The vaccines that arrived in Kerala would meet the requirements of only three or four days. In this backdrop, Members of Parliament representing Left parties met the Central Health Minister, who promised them that more doses would be dispatched to the state soon.
Key statistics
Till now, 1,90,02,710 persons have received the vaccine in Kerala of which 1,32,86,462 took the first dose and 57,16,248 received both doses. In other words, 37.85 per cent of the population based on 2021 estimate received first dose and 16.28 per cent both doses. These figures are higher than the national average, especially the second dose, which is double that of the whole of India.
Interestingly, more women have taken the jab than men – 98,77,701 compared to 91,21,745. While 49,27,692 people between age 18 and 44 have received the vaccine, 66,77,979 persons were aged 45 – 60 and 73,97,039 were above 60.
Kerala had attracted national attention after it not only ensured zero wastage of the vaccine but also vaccinated more people than the number of allotted vaccines. The state’s vaccine utilization rate is, in fact, 105.8 per cent.
