The current pace of COVID-19 vaccination in the State is expected to speed up when the State receives more vaccine stocks in the first week of June, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
The State will utilise its vaccine stocks and try to vaccinate as many people as possible before June 15, the Chief Minister said here on Saturday.
Inmates in elderly care homes, those who are bedridden with chronic illness and those above 45 years in tribal colonies would be vaccinated as early as possible. Neonates contracting COVID-19 had been noted and steps would be taken to address the issue, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said that long-term plans would have to be devised for the State to enter into vaccine manufacturing. Various vaccine manufacturing firms had expressed their interest and willingness to open their units in the Life Sciences Park, in association with the Institute of Advanced Virology. The government would explore this possibility, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said that through lockdown, the State had successfully brought down its active case load, which had gone above 4.45 lakhs, down to 2.3 lakhs. Despite the massive surge in cases, the State had managed to prevent the hospitals and health systems from being overwhelmed. As it happened elsewhere in the country, patients did not have to scramble for ICU beds or ventilators.
He said that lockdown cannot be withdrawn till the test positivity rate and hospitalisations reduced further. At present, ICU occupancy in government hospitals was 70% and the average TPR since the past three days was 18%.
ICU occupancy should go below 60% and TPR should remain below 15% for three days continuously for lockdown to be withdrawn.
Pre-monsoon cleaning would be taken up across the State from June 4 to 6 and all departments should work in a coordinated manner, Mr. Vijayan said.
