Kozhikode: It seems that there are not many takers for COVID-19 vaccines in Kerala these days though there is enough stock of vaccines in the government's kitty. Even the online slots, which are on display on daily basis, are not fully booked.
According to official estimates, only 1.14 lakh people took vaccines on Tuesday though there was a stock of almost 14 lakh doses of vaccines.
These figures were arrived at after counting the number of persons administered vaccines in both government and private hospitals.
Almost 92 per cent of those above the age of 18 years received the first shot in the State. Of this, 90 per cent of persons took Covishield. Now, there is not much demand for Covishield as one can take its second shot only after 82 days.
Moreover, those who contracted COVID-19 after taking the first round of vaccines would be able to take the second round of vaccines only after three months.
In Kozhikode district alone, there was a stock of 1.8 lakh doses of Covishield the other day. The district had a stock of 40,000 shots of Covaxin. But only 12,000 shots of vaccines were used. The same is the case in other districts.
There was a heavy rush for the administration of the first dose in August and September. So, in all probability, there would be a rush for the second dose in November.
Decline in detection tests
The dip in the number of COVID-19 detection tests undertaken recently is one of the main reasons for the decrease in the number of cases reported. Compared to previous weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases reported went down by 29,960 last week. Kerala recorded only 12,616 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
The stoppage of antigen tests in State Government-run labs coupled with the halving of RT-PCR tests has led to the corresponding decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The average daily test conducted at the beginning of September was 1.75 lakh, whereas the tests conducted in October dipped to less than one lakh.
Enough stock of vaccines: Veena
State Health Minister Veena George requested that no one should show reluctance in undergoing vaccination at a time when the State Government was taking strong COVID-19 containment measures.
The number of people visiting the 1,200-odd COVID-19 vaccination centres in the State came down considerably these days compared to earlier times, she observed.
While asserting that there is enough stock of vaccines, Veena said that only a few people are yet to take the first round of vaccination.
As per the statistics released by the Central Government, 18.5 lakh people in the State have not taken vaccines. Of this, 10 lakh people, who had been infected with the pandemic, can take the second round of vaccine only after three months. So, it is assessed that only 8.5 lakh people are left without taking the first round of vaccination.
