A major part of the vaccination drive was confined to private hospitals in Kozhikode district on Tuesday, with government institutions running out of stock of vaccines even as 2,397 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported.
The extent of shortage was evident on Monday itself when District Collector N. Tej Lohit Reddy took to social media to announce that vaccination would be available only at the Government Medical College Hospital and the Government General Hospital for the next day. However, thousands of slots were available at private hospitals, where ₹780 is charged per jab. Some hospitals have been witnessing huge rush for the past few days as well. Fresh doses are expected only within the next two days.
Meanwhile, Mr. Reddy directed all private hospitals to set up vaccination facilities. At a meeting of hospital representatives here on Tuesday, he said the test positivity rate (TPR) and the number of infected persons were going up in the district. This had led to strengthening of restrictions here, he added.
Of the fresh cases reported on Tuesday, 2,354 were locally acquired infections, while the source of 34 others was not known. As many as 17,803 samples were tested, and TPR was 13.63%. Kozhikode Corporation accounted for 399 cases of local transmission, Omassery 83, Peruvayal 73, Koyilandy 70, Perumanna 67, Chathamangalam 63, Chelannur 60, Kunnamangalam 53, Atholi 52, and Chemanchery 50. As many as 1,758 people recovered, and the active caseload of the district is 21,230.
