Fully vaccinated people contribute major share to Kerala's COVID count

Thiruvananthapuram: A good chunk of Kerala's daily Covid count comes from breakthrough infections (cases among fully vaccinated people). However, the state government data from the past two weeks shows that very few infected people needed oxygen beds (2%) or ICU admission (1.5%) because the vaccination had reduced the severity of symptoms.

Kerala has reported 1, 19,401 positive cases in the past 15 days, and 1, 00,593 of them were eligible for vaccination. 67,980 of the patients had received one or both doses. Kerala is currently responsible for 50% of the daily case count being reported in India. 45% of the active cases in the country are also in Kerala, reported The Indian Express.

Health Minister Veena George said that the breakthrough infections were anticipated and the state has already ensured that 95% of the eligible population has received the first dose. She added that the current trend has proved that vaccination can reduce the severity of the infection.

Ms George said that Kerala's immunity mainly comes from vaccination, not infections. She pointed out that many other states have a high prevalence of antibodies due to widespread infection. "Deaths due to Covid-19 are very rare in Kerala."

Health department officials said that many health care workers, who got vaccination first, are getting infected now because many people of all sections have abandoned Covid protocols relying on the false sense of confidence, reported The Indian Express.