Ready To Give COVID-19 Vaccine To Kids When Country Allows: Kerala Minister
Kerala: Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that the state is prepared to start the COVID-19 vaccination for the children when the country decides to go forward with the same.
Earlier, Priya Abraham, director of the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology (Pune), had informed that children in the age group of two to 18 years can get the COVID-19 vaccine by September 2021.
George said that by September 30, all who are in the eligible group of 18 years and above will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Kerala. “We are prepared for the children’s vaccination. When it is decided across the country, we will also start it,” George said.
He said that more than 50% of the population of Kerala has taken the first dose vaccination and about 20% have taken the second dose. She was speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Vaccination Drive Thru’ started in Thiruvananthapuram. With this initiative, people in vehicles will be vaccinated to avoid overcrowding and overcrowding.
According to statistics, 51.97% of the total population has received the first dose of the vaccine, i.e. 1,84,42,631 people. Apart from this, 68,08,731 people have taken the second dose of the vaccine in the state. The highest number of vaccinations were done in Ernakulam district, followed by Thiruvananthapuram.
The 530 fresh COVID-19 fatalities as of Wednesday, August 18 include 179 from Kerala and 158 from Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, after breaking the value of one in the first week of August, according to researchers, the R number, which shows how fast the coronavirus pandemic is spreading, has been steadily declining in the country, including Kerala and some north-east. states. The R-value between August 14-16, calculated by the researchers, now stands at 0.89.
If R is less than one, it means that the number of newly infected people is less than the number of people infected in the preceding period and the incidence of the disease is decreasing.
Sitabara Sinha of the Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences, who is leading the research, told PTI, citing his data, that India’s R has fallen to 0.9.
Kerala’s R-value, which has the highest number of active cases in the country, is now below one, a sign of relief for the authorities struggling to control the infection levels in the state.
Earlier this week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited Kerala along with a central team to review the COVID-19 situation in the state.
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