The Kerala government has asked the Centre to give the state priority in distribution of coronavirus vaccines, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said the state should be given priority due to its population density, high number of cases related to heart diseases and diabetes, and the state’s strategy in dealing with the pandemic.

“Our strategy has been to delay the peak,” Mohammad Asheel, Executive Director of Kerala Social Security Mission under the Social Justice Department told The Indian Express. “Though we were the first state to report the disease, the cases in the state has peaked just now. Despite our population’s vulnerability and susceptibility, we have succeeded in our strategy. So in order to get the best out of our strategy, we need to get the vaccine first.”

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Meanwhile, Information Technology Cell head of the Bharatiya Janata Party Amit Malviya picked on the state’s request and mocked the “Kerala model”, which was hailed widely for its strategy to handle the pandemic in its early stages.

“After showing the world how to ‘defeat’ Corona virus, KK Shailja, Kerala’s health minister, now cites high number of cases in Kerala to get priority in vaccine distribution. Kerala model in action?” Malviya wrote on Twitter.

Kerala, one of the worst-hit states, currently has 65,467 active cases of coronavirus and accounts for more than one-fourth of them in the entire country. On Monday, Kerala reported 4,602 new cases, more than 25% of the countrywide tally of 16,505. The state has consistently contributed for more than one-fourth of the daily cases since mid-October, according to The Indian Express.

However, in early stages of the outbreak of the pandemic, Kerala was widely acclaimed for its efforts in flattening the curve of new infections. Even the United Nations recognised the feat and invited Shailaja to speak on June 24, on the occasion of United Nations Public Service Day.