81% of police force in Kerala have taken two doses of vaccine

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As much as 81.2% of all the police officials in the districts and 86.1% of those in armed police battalions have been administered two doses of Covid vaccine till date.
As a result, the number of police officers getting infected by the virus, despite being on the forefront of imposing the lockdown measures in the state, is very low compared to the ongoing rate of spread of the pandemic, show the figures.
Of the 41,887 police officers who had registered for vaccination, 34,011 have been administered two doses of vaccine already, leaving only 7,876 personnel to be vaccinated.
Similarly, of the11,319 members from the armed police battalions in the state, 9,752 members have been administered the vaccine, leaving only 1,567 more to be vaccinated. Of the 13.9% of those who remain to be vaccinated in the armed police battalions, 80% are from the women’s battalion.
“All those who are yet to receive vaccination both in the battalions and districts have been exempted because of valid medical and health reasons. Once their medical embargo is lifted, they will also be administered the vaccine,” ADGP (armed police battalion) and welfare officer for the police force K Padmakumar said.
The result of vaccination among policemen has given a great degree of confidence among the members of the force, most of whom are on the field on frontline Covid duty.
In June 2020, while there were 3,173 reported cases in the state, the number of police personnel who were affected were 98 (13.08%). On May 9 this year, when the number of those who turned Covid positive in the state was 35,801, the number of police officials affected were only 124, which is only 0.35% of the total affected.
Of the 965 Covid positive police officials (as on May 10), the highest number is in the capital district (133), followed by Palakkad (129) and Ernakulam (103).
Of the 965 who tested positive, 959 are recovering in their homes, which means that they are only mildly-hit by the pandemic, while four are in treatment in hospitals/ CFLTCs, and two are in their respective units itself.
With regards to the 12 units in the armed police battalion, on May 10, there are 257 Covid positive policemen, of which15 are in hospitals/CFLTCs, while 178 are in their homes and 36 in their respective units. The highest number of Covid positive cases are in KAP-2 at Muttikulangara in Palakkad (37) followed by KAP-1 at Tripunithura in Ernakulam (32).
“Even while the members of the force are deployed for Covid frontline duty, their safety is top priority for us. We have successfully been able to reduce the Covid-19 cases in the force by strictly following all the protocols in addition to ensuring vaccination for our officers. Despite this, we are not lowering our guard and will continue to remain cautious,” Padmakumar said.