THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the state would be able to complete the vaccination among the eligible population in the next two to three months. According to him, the state has crossed the milestone of giving at least one dose to over 80% of all above 18 years.
“We are expecting to complete the distribution of the first dose by the end of September,” he said. Besides, 32% of the eligible people have received the second dose so far.
He said the Covid cases have dropped by 21% (close to 43,000 cases) in a week and the test positivity rate has come down by 6% during the period. The state had 1,98,865 active patients between September 8 and 14. However, only 13.7% of them are under treatment at various hospitals, domiciliary care centres and other Covid treatment centres. Only 2% of the patients required oxygen beds and 1% required ICU beds, said the CM.
The lockdown restrictions in 2,507 panchayats and urban wards in 678 local bodies with Weekly Infection Population Ratio (WIPR) of above eight will continue, said Pinarayi. He expressed concern over the increase in late hospital admissions during the period. “Up to 30% of the patients came late in September. It was 22% in August. It is not a good trend. Most of the dead include elderly and people with comorbidities. Timely treatment could save lives,” said Pinarayi. He also asked people above 60 and hesitant in taking vaccines to get the jab without delay.