Kochi, December 12: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday announced that a vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, once developed, will be distributed free of charge in his state. "COVID-19 vaccine will be provided free of cost in the state," Pinarayi Vijayan said. His announcement came less than two months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had announced to provide COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to all in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections. COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Free For All in Madhya Pradesh, Announces CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Soon after the BJP announced free vaccine in Bihar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami said a vaccine will be distributed free of charge in his state as well. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan followed suit and made the same announcement. Earlier this month, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to allocate COVID-19 vaccine to Chhattisgarh for free and on a priority basis.

Coronavirus Cases in Kerala:

While announcing free COVID-19 vaccine in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan also said 5,949 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state today. The state also recorded 32 COVID-19 fatalities taking the death tally to 2,594. As many as 5,268 people turned negative taking the total cured in the state to 6,01,861, while there were 60,029 active cases. Across Kerala, 3,15,167 were under observation which included 13,334 people at hospitals. There were 437 hotspots in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 12, 2020 08:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).