Kerala: Spike In Re-Infection Cases, Centre Asks State To Review Gap Between Vaccine Doses

There is a huge spike in new cases despite the vaccine drive being active in the state. The Centre has now asked the state to review the gap between two vaccine doses

Covid Tests

Thiruvananthapuram: A large number of Covid-19 reinfection cases have been reported in Pathanamthitta in Kerala. Surprisingly, cases of reinfection are found in people who have already been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine. The Central Government is also keeping an eye on re-infection cases in Kerala. Due to the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the state, the Centre has asked the Kerala government to review the data and study whether the gap between the two doses needs to be reduced.

A team from the Centre had recently visited Kerala. The team found that the state reported 14,974 infections in those who have already taken their first jab and 5,042 new cases in people after their second dose of the vaccines. This state is mostly dependent on Covishield.

Review continues in collaboration with the state

"We are conducting the review with the state", said Sujeet Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control. He added, "We need to know when did the person test positive after the second dose and if he/she had a mild or severe infection and was required to be admitted in hospital. We have sought this information from other districts too".

Kerala is currently reporting a large number of cases, the government is also investigating these cases through genome sequencing. So far 54% of people in Kerala have been given the first dose of the vaccine. While 23% of the total population has been completely vaccinated. However, cases of re-infection are high in people of the state despite taking two doses of vaccine. The concern now is that a persistently high rate of infection can lead to a greater number of cases, thus worsening the situation.