With close to 5,000 fresh infections, the COVID-19 tally in Kerala rose to 10.11 lakh while 18 deaths took the toll past the 4,000 mark on Tuesday.

In a positive sign, recoveries at 5,439 outnumbered the fresh cases of 4,937, which included 29 health workers. A total of 74,352 samples were tested on Tuesday and the test positivity rate was 6.64 per cent, state Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

The tally of COVID-19 cases soared to 10,11,956 and the death toll stood at 4,016. Till now, 1,07,01,894 samples have been tested.

"Out of the total infected today, 90 reached the state from outside while 4,478 contracted the disease from contacts. The source of infection of 340 was yet to be traced," the Minister said in a release.

With the discharge of 5,439 people, the cumulative recoveries in the state mounted to 9,46,910. Currently, there were 60,761 active cases across the state.

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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Among the districts, Ernakulam reported the highest cases at 643, followed by Kollam with 547 and Pathanamthitta with 524 cases.

A total of 2,53,595 people under observation with 9,510 in isolation wards of various hospitals. Two more regions were added to the list of hot spots, taking its total to 430, the release added.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

Recoveries outnumber fresh COVID-19 cases in Kerala; Infection count rises to 10.11 lakh

With the discharge of 5,439 people, the cumulative recoveries in the state mounted to 9,46,910. Currently, there were 60,761 active cases across the state.