It is a good thing that the vaccine is arriving because it is going to be one of the key containment measures in addition to what is already in place. It will offer further protection, especially for health workers and the most vulnerable.
However, Kenyans should not get tired of adhering to the containment measures. The vaccine will offer a certain level of protection; the main thing it does is it reduces transmission but it's most effective in reducing the severity of the illness.
So when a vaccine is administered those who would have gotten a very severe infection and ended up in hospital or unfortunately even died will be the ones to gain the most.
That is why there is a phased approach where you start vaccinating the most vulnerable, healthcare workers and other essential service individuals.
So if you get vaccinated and I get vaccinated, it means that the chances of you spreading the disease are lower and that means protecting somebody who if they got the disease might have ended up in hospital.
The good thing with the vaccine is that you add it to the other existing measures. You don’t say now let us stop until the disease disappears completely.
The reason for excluding pregnant women is because the vaccine has not been tested on pregnant women. Whenever you are developing a new medicine you start by trying it out on those who are fit and healthy. Pregnant women will be in the vulnerable group because of the foetus.
On the issue of eggs and allergy, a lot of vaccines are made with eggs. So if you are allergic to eggs, then there is a problem. This particular vaccine is not the one but what happens is that it depends on what it is made with; the underlying protein that it is made with. So this doesn’t apply. It's a general thing but it does not apply to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The board chairman, Centre for Health Solutions-Kenya, spoke to the Star.
