Over 40,000 Vaccinated People Test Positive In Kerala: Sources
Since the second wave abated, the authorities have been alert about the emergence of a new variant that might drive a third wave of the virus.
New Delhi:
More than 40,000 cases of breakthrough infection – where the patient contracted the virus after vaccination – have been detected in Kerala, sources in the Union Home Ministry have told NDTV. Instances of infection after vaccination elsewhere in the nation and abroad have been rare. The spike in breakthrough infection in the state, which has been suffering a resurgence of the virus, has opened up questions about how the immunity escape is happening, sources said.
The Central government has asked Kerala to provide samples to detect the genomic sequence in all cases of breakthrough infections to figure out if there has been a mutation, sources told NDTV.
“Such large numbers of breakthrough infections is a matter of great concern for the Ministry of Health,” sources told NDTV.
Cases of re-infection – a second infection – have also been recorded in some districts, sources said.
The Health Ministry, sources said, is now trying to zero in on the genomic sequence to check if there has been a mutation in the virus. A mutation always drives a fresh wave of infection — as was seen during the second wave of Covid earlier this year, when Delta variant of the virus had been dominant.
Since the second wave abated, the authorities have been alert about the emergence of a new variant that might drive a third wave of the virus.
The maximum number of breakthrough infections has been seen in Pathnamthitta district. Sources said among those infected are people who have received both doses of the vaccine.
Kerala has been reporting over 20,000 cases daily for past few weeks, with a dip seen yesterday, when it reported 13,049 cases and 105 deaths. The state today reported 21,119 cases and 152 deaths.
So far, 14,974 people have been infected after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. The rate of infections after the second dose is lower — 5,042 people who received the second dose of the virus have been infected
