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Kerala recorded 5,080 fresh coronavirus infections and 196 deaths on Sunday, raising the caseload to 50,89,175 and the toll to 37,495.

With 7,908 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries crossed 50 lakh to reach 50,04,786 and the active cases dropped to 58,088, an official press release said.

Of the 196 deaths, 40 were reported over the last few days and 156 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said. As many as 53,892 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, it said.

Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 873 cases followed by Kozhikode (740) and Thiruvananthapuram (621).

Of the new cases, 24 were health workers, 28 from outside the state and 4,776 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 252.

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 currently 1,92,768 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 1,87,604 are in home or institutional quarantine and 5,164 in hospitals, added the release.

Kerala clocks 5,080 new cases of COVID-19, 196 deaths

With 7,908 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries crossed 50 lakh to reach 50,04,786 and the active cases dropped to 58,088, an official press release said.

Representative image