Kerala has delivered 50,71,550 doses of COVID vaccine till now, with 45,48,054 persons above 45 years in the State receiving at least one dose of the vaccine, while 5,23,496 persons are fully vaccinated with two doses, according to an official release by Health Minister K.K. Shylaja.
She said it was indeed to the credit of the State that it could cover so many persons in a short time. With the mass vaccination drive taking off in a major way in the State, on Monday alone, Kerala administered 2.38 lakh doses (2,38,721), much more than Sunday when over 67,000 persons were administered the vaccine.
Vaccination took place in 1,826 sites, including 1,402 government hospitals and 424 private hospitals.
Just 6 lakh doses
However, the State is quite anxious about its depleting vaccine stock, which has come down to just 6 lakh doses. The Health Minister said that more people would be vaccinated as and when the State received more doses.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has joined his counterparts in other States in writing to Union Health Minister Harshvardhan, expressing anxiety about vaccine paucity and demanding that a State as well-performing as Kerala in organising the vaccination drive should be allowed additional supplies immediately.
45-day plan
Mr. Vijayan said Kerala has devised a 45-day action plan to vaccinate the entire 45-plus population in the State, for which it requires nearly 2.5 lakh-3 lakh doses daily.
So far, Kerala has received 56,84,360 doses of vaccine, of which 50,71,550 doses have been delivered till Monday. As the remaining stock would be barely enough for the next three days, Kerala needs another 50 lakh doses of vaccine in the next couple of days, Mr. Vijayan said.
