• Kenya plans local fill-and-finish production of Covid-19 vaccines and those for polio and other diseases. Dependence on imports has been a problem.
•The plant will expand government vaccination plan to vaccinate at least 27 million 27 adults by the end of next year.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Kenya will build a fill-and-finish Covid-19 vaccines plant at the former Kemsa depot in Embakasi.
It will also produce other vaccines, such as the polio drops.
The plant is expected to be completed in 2024.
Vaccine ingredients will be imported in bulk. At the new plant, the vaccines will be produced, sealed in vials, labelled and finished.
Government officials identified Embakasi as a suitable site after Kemsa Kitengela depot was ruled out as the area was densely populated.
In May, the Health ministry said talks were underway with the Oxford AstraZeneca manufacturers to enable importation of large quantities for repackaging in vials.
The ministry has said talks between two potentials partners in the fill-and-finish plant are almost completed.
“We found a place in Embakasi in the industrial area close to the airport. It has been evacuated and it is now ready for renovation,” vaccines deployment taskforce chairman Willis Akhwale said.
Akhwale is also a member of the taskforce headed by Kemri board chairman Daniel Mbinda. It was formed to realise plans for the vaccine plant.
“We have gone for what we call the APIs, which is the active pharmaceutical ingredients," Akhwale said.
"We have identified a partner and we are now in nondisclosure, which is why a lot of information is not available. We need to sign first," he said.
He said the government has also identified people to partner with to obtain the equipment.
"A week ago we have formed what we call Kenya Biovax Limited, which will have the power to enter into partnerships for vaccines production,"Akhwale said.
The plant is expected to increase vaccinations, reduce shortages of ready-to-administer vaccines and reduce dependence on donors.
The government aims to vaccinate at least 27 million adults by the end of next year.
The government has been depending on donations from Covax and richer countries. It placed an order for 13 million doses of the single-injection Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That was to be the bedrock of the country's programme.
So far 141,000 doses have been delivered by through the AU-African Vaccines Acquisition Trust (AVAT).
To date, 6.5 million vaccines have been received. More than 3.5 million doses have been administered. Only 3.4 per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated.
“We went for Johnson & Johnson because it is a single dose so you finish with the person and don't need a second visit," Health CAS Rashid Aman said.
“But we have not received the vaccines according to the schedule we had expected from the South Africa facility. The situation is improving now,” he added.
The ministry has rolled out mass vaccination campaigns to ensure at least 5.8 million people are vaccinated by October 20. The aim is to vaccinate at least 100,000 people daily in the coming few days, subject to vaccine availability.
(Edited by V. Graham)