Of the 34,973 people who died of COVID-19 in Kerala between January 2021 and November 2021, 87 per cent had not received even a single dose of the vaccine, the Directorate of Health Services data has revealed.
The data was revealed in response to an RTI query filed by Wayanad native K Chathu.
From January 1 to November 23, 2021, Kerala recorded 34,973 deaths due to Covid. Only 1,300 of the people who died had received both doses of Covid vaccine.
As many as 3,368 of these cases (10 per cent) had been administered at least one dose of the vaccine, while those who had taken both doses of the vaccine constitute only 4 per cent of the total deaths.
It is, however, not clear whether the people who were unvaccinated had not gone for the vaccine due to vaccine hesitancy or some other health reasons.
The daily Covid count issued by the Kerala government also consistently proves that vaccination reduces the severity of sickness caused by coronavirus and hence requires fewer hospitalisations.
According to the daily bulletin issued on February 3, only 3 per cent of the active cases are admitted in hospitals. The number of people requiring ICU, oxygen beds and ventilators has also come down. During January 27-February 2, the average active cases in the state were 3,48,136. Out of these, only about 0.9 per cent only were on oxygen beds, and 0.4 per cent were in ICU.
According to the Directorate of Health Services, Kerala is among the leading states in the number of vaccinations per million. So far, 84 per cent of the eligible population in the state has received both doses of vaccine, while about 73 per cent children between 15 and 18 years have received one dose of the vaccine.