Mombasa county through the department of health services has launched the second booster dose for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Public health department chief officer Pauline Oginga on Friday said that the second booster vaccine will be administered to people who received the first dose and those who have finished six months since they were last inoculated.
“Initially we used to get two doses and get the first dose of booster vaccine but the government has allowed those who received the first booster and have finished six months to get the second one,” she said.
Oginga said this is because six months after a person gets the normal vaccine, its protection wears out
She said that the second booster is expected to protect people from getting Covid-19.
Mombasa has so far vaccinated 32 per cent of the 70 per cent targeted adult population by the Ministry of Health.
So far 470,000 people have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, out of which 250,000 were fully vaccinated with both the first and second dose.
“This is still a low number therefore we are advocating for those who are yet to receive the second dose to come out and be vaccinated,” Oginga said.
According to the department, out of the total number who received the two doses, only 10,300 people have received the booster shot.
“If you compare this number with the number of people who have been fully vaccinated, it means that we have a big number of people who are yet to get the booster jab,” she said.
Oginga said the booster will continue to be administered to people as long as the virus is still around.
“This is going on concurrently because we want to cut the transmission rate. Am kindly urging the residents of Mombasa to come out and get vaccinated to ensure our city is Covid-19 free,” she said.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
