Multiple states, including Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, have already announced free COVID-19 vaccines for all people in the states.
Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Saturday that the COVID-19 vaccine will be available at no cost to people in the state. “No one will be charged for the vaccine. This is the government’s position,” CM told reporters in Kannur.
Kerala is the last in line to announce a free-cost COVID-19 vaccine for its people. Several states, including Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, have already made a similar announcement. The Center said on Tuesday that three COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute of India and Pfizer, are under active consideration by India’s drug regulator and there is hope that advance licensing will be possible for all or any of them.
Pinarayi Vijayan said the amount of vaccine that the Center will allocate to the state is not yet known.
“The fact is that the number of COVID-19 cases is declining, which is a relief. However, it remains to be seen whether the surveys of local agencies, two phases of which are now over, would contribute to an increase in cases. That will only be known in the next few days, “he said.
If the cases do not increase, this trend (of cases in decline) will continue, added the Chief Minister.
Kerala recorded 5,949 new COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths on Saturday, bringing the number of cases to 6.64 lakh and the balance to 2,595. The number of people in treatment stands at 60,029. 5,268 people also recovered on Saturday. Of the last positive cases, 47 were health workers, 83 came from out of state, 5,173 infected by contact, and the source of infection for 646 people is unknown.
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A total of 59,690 samples were analyzed in the last 24 hours, and the test’s positivity rate was 9.97 percent. So far, 69,21,597 samples have been submitted for analysis. A total of 3.15,167 people were under observation in various districts, 13,334 of them in hospitals.
Malappuram recorded the highest number of cases with 765, followed by Kozhikode 763 and Ernakulam 732. Kasaragod accounted for the lowest number of 60 cases on Saturday.
There are 437 hotspots in the state, with the addition of Manarkkad in Palakkad and the removal of four towns.
Watch the video of Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement:
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