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Kerala to buy 10mn doses of vaccine: CM
Amid mounting cases of Covid-19, the Kerala government on Wednesday decided to buy 10 million doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines directly from manufacturers
Amid mounting cases of Covid-19, the Kerala government on Wednesday decided to buy 10 million doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines directly from manufacturers.
“We have decided to make vaccines free for all age sections. For this, we have decided to buy one crore doses (70 lakh doses of Covishield and 30 lakh doses of Covaxin) in three months, starting from May. We have sent several letters to the Centre, requesting it to make the vaccine free but we are yet to hear from it,” chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here, adding that the ongoing vaccination drive has been affected at several areas due to paucity of doses.
“We hope at least the Centre will do away with three different price regimes for vaccines. We have to get it at the same price which the Centre is getting, i.e., ₹150 per dose. Otherwise, it will burden the state which is already reeling under the impact of pandemic,” the chief minister said.
The government, meanwhile, has decided not to impose a complete lockdown in districts with a test positivity rate (TPR) of 15 per cent and above, even as the state registered another single-day spike of 36,013 cases on Wednesday, highest since the outbreak began, with a TPR of 25.34.
The state also reported 41 deaths, taking the overall toll to 5211. The active caseload stood at 266,646.
Earlier, the Union health ministry had strongly recommended a complete shutdown across 150-odd districts which report a TPR of more than 15.
Out of 14 districts in the state, at least 12 showed a TPR of above 15 per cent on Wednesday. In Kottayam, which is the worst-affected, the TPR is more than double -- 30.81 -- and in Malappuram, it is 25.8%.
The Kerala government believes that a complete lockdown is likely to impact the livelihood of many. The chief minister has made it clear that all restrictions will be tightened further and advised people not to step out of their homes until absolutely necessary.
Vijayan admitted that the state is going through a critical phase and in some areas of Kottayam, the TPR is above 40 per cent.
“Cases are going up fast. We have ramped up medical facilities at many places. ICU beds, ventilators and stock of oxygen increased,” he said, adding necessary changes will be made in hospital admission procedures to reduce the number of patients. He also said more health personnel will be recruited to tide over the shortage of workforce.
Meanwhile, the Kerala chapter of the Indian Medical Association has asked the government to streamline vaccine supply and avoid heavy rush at inoculation centres. Otherwise, the association said, these centres may turn into virus hubs.
“We don’t want vaccination joints to turn into transmission points,” IMA state secretary Dr P Gopakumar said in Thrissur.
