Kerala's COVID-19 tally crossed the 10.25 lakh mark on Friday with the addition of 4,584 cases while the toll rose to 4,061.

The state tested 67,574 samples and the test positivity rate was 6.67 percent, Health Minister K K Shailaja said. Till now,1,09,06,927 samples have been sent for testing. "Out of those infected today, 74 reached the state from outside while 4,110 contracted the disease from their contacts. The source of infection of 288 is yet to be traced. 33 health workers are also among the infected," she said in a release.

Meanwhile, 4,854 people recuperated from the disease on Friday taking the total cured persons in the state to 9,61,789 while the tally of positive cases stood at 10,26,286.

Currently, there were 59,814 people under treatment in the state.

Among the districts, Ernakulam reported the highest cases on Friday with--535, followed by Kozhikode with 509, Malappuram with 476 and Alappuzha with 440 cases.

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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There are 2,54,520 people under observation in the state out of which 9,191 are in isolation wards of various hospitals.

Meanwhile, 67 regions were removed from the list of hot spots, whereas four new regions were added to it taking its total number 368.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

Kerala's COVID-19 tally crosses 10.25 lakh; 4,584 fresh cases reported

There are 2,54,520 people under observation in the state out of which 9,191 are in isolation wards of various hospitals.