Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o has urged frontline workers in the county to take Covid-19 vaccine.
Nyong’o, who took the jab at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital on Thursday, said the vaccine is safe.
“It's a good thing. Let each one of us go for it, starting with the frontline workers,” he said.
The governor said AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved by World Health Organisation and people should not shy away from being vaccinated.
He urged residents to continue adhering to the Covid-19 protocol to prevent further spread across the county.
The county government targets to vaccinate more than 4,000 health workers as it begins administering the jab which was launched at the JOOTRH on Tuesday.
County Health executive Boaz Nyunya said frontline workers in public, private and faith- based hospitals will be covered in the first phase.
He said the county targets to vaccinate 140 people daily from the 15,000 doses Kisumu received from the Ministry of Health. The team will then move to sub-county hospitals.
The next group to be vaccinated against Covid-19 will include the police, prison warders and teachers.
Nyunya said the department of health will be on the look out for any adverse effects on the vaccine but assured the public that the jab had been tested and found to be safe and effective.
"The vaccine is very safe having been taken through clinical trials and people should not be worried,” he said.
The CEC noted that they will not force people to take the jab as it is voluntary.
He, however, cautioned the residents against disobeying the Covid-19 containment measures by the Ministry of Health.
Residents in Kisumu have been lax in adhering to Health ministry containment measures especially in public areas such as bars and markets. Matatu operators and boda boda operators have also been carrying more than required number of passengers.
"It will be a futile step if we administer the vaccine yet people longer observe ministry of health protocols," he said.
“The vaccine is just an additional ammunition in the war. Hand washing, keeping physical distance and wearing masks is still necessary. You can't say that because you have a safety belt on, you can drive to a wall," he said.
Nyunya said the health department has been training its staff ahead of the rollout of the immunisation exercise for the past one month.
"We hope to cover 30 per cent of the county's population by 2023," he said.
The county has since the outbreak tested 25,000 samples and cumulatively reported more than 2,237 positive cases with four patients in home-based isolation.
Other counties that have rolled out the vaccination include Nairobi, Vihiga, Kitui, Baringo, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Turkana, Nandi, Nyamira, Kisii, Homa Bay, Migori, Machakos, Nakuru and Kericho.
On March 4, vaccine for the Nyanza region arrived at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency warehouses in Kisumu.
Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay, Kisii and Nyamira counties will share 54,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the first phase of the roll-out.
Kisumu has 15,000 doses, Homa Bay (9,000), Kisii (9,000), Migori (9,000), Nyamira (6,000) and Siaya (6,000).
Kemsa warehouse manager Denis Otieno said they had sufficient cold room storage for the vaccine.
Otieno said the counties will receive half of the doses allocated to them in the first phase of distribution and the rest later.
"The vaccines will be available at specific county referral hospitals once they reach the counties," he said. Nurses, doctors, laboratory technicians and other persons working in health facilities will be the first to be vaccinated.
-Edited by Sarah Kanyara
