Kerala reported 6,356 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, including a UK returnee, as the active cases touched 69,113, the government said.

The toll touched 3,796 with the addition of 20 fatalities. In the last 24 hours ending 2 pm, 59,635 samples were tested and the test positivity rate was 10.66 per cent.

At least 97,72,067 samples have been sent for testing. As many as 6,380 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries so far to 8,71,548, Health minister K K Shailaja said.

The total covid caseload has mounted to 9,44,709. Ernakulam, with 871 cases, continued to top the list in the number of infections, followed by Kozhikode 741, Kollam 690 and Pathanamthitta 597, the minister said in a press release.

Of the positive cases, 42 are health workers, 84 had come from outside the state and 5,817 had been infected through contact.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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At least 2,18,318 people are under observation in various districts, including 11,003 in hospitals.

With 21,200 health workers taking the covid vaccine on Wednesday, 2,50,130 workers have so far been vaccinated.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

Kerala reports over 6,000 cases; active cases cross 69,000

Of the positive cases, 42 are health workers, 84 had come from outside the state and 5,817 had been infected through contact.