THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will complete the first dose of vaccination for all those who are above 18 years in the state by this month end, and the second dose by January next year, health minister Veena George said in the assembly on Tuesday.
Replying to a calling attention motion by A N Shamseer inviting the government’s attention to the need to complete the vaccination at the earliest, the minister said that as on Monday, the government has administered 2,47,91,363 first doses and 1,12,65,424 second doses to those above 18 years in the state. The minister said that the government is going at a fast pace to complete the vaccination, and operates as many as 1,200 vaccination centres across the state.
The government has launched separate programmes for the vaccination of pregnant women, differently abled, bed-ridden and those who are unable to register their names for vaccination. In addition, initiatives like drive through vaccination, etc. have also been launched.
With regards to Covid deaths, the government has launched a portal which will be updated about the deaths, and another portal in which the relatives of the dead can apply for including the death of their relatives in the category of Covid-19 deaths.
As per the Centre’s direction, Rs 50,000 will be disbursed to the close relatives of those who lost their lives due to Covid-19 from the state disaster response fund. The disbursal of financial relief will be through the portal being readied by the land revenue commissioner, and once it is ready, the disbursal will be completed soon, the minister said.
The minister said that rare incidents of losing lives after taking Covid-19 vaccine have been reported from the state that have been alerted to the Centre. The state health department is also conducting a study into such deaths, the minister said.
