Community Health Volunteers have always played a critical role in the health sector in the country.
Key is ensuring an increase in the uptake of immunisations by communities especially the HPV vaccine that targets girls.
The HPV vaccine is to fight cervical cancer in the country.
Research has shown that the services they provide are not inferior to those provided by healthcare workers but sometimes even better.
With the roll-out of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, the ministry has noted that the CHV might not be trained and equipped to help in administering the vaccine.
Head of Vaccines deployment Taskforce chairman Dr Willis Akhwale says before a vaccine is given a complete market authorization the regulator is keen as to who administers that vaccine.
At the moment, the regulation dictates that the Covid vaccines be administered only by a registered clinician or a nurse.
“That is very clear because the way the vaccine is administered could be the source of side events, serious side events so to say or it could be where you administer even a wrong vaccine so during this stage the regulator can only allow registered clinicians and nursing officers to administer,” Akhwale says.
The task force chairman further notes that the nature of the vaccination makes it more complex to conduct outreaches using CHVs, adding that the way oral vaccines such as those for polio are easier to handle compared to injectable vaccines.
“It is easier to have campaigns with oral vaccination and then it is easier to have outreaches because when it comes to using of injections then there is the whole aspect of injection prevention control and safety,” he says.
The medic adds: “The issue of how you dispose of the waste is so important otherwise it could be the status of other forms of infections. So you have to ensure the environment is controlled to support those vaccinations.”
He however notes that in the next phase of the vaccination schedule trained healthcare workers will conduct outreaches to target the vulnerable populations.
So far more than 802,000 Kenyans have received their first dose of the vaccines against the June 30 target of 1.25 million.
The arrival of the second consignment of the vaccines however hangs in the balance as India battles with its own surge in infections.
The India Serum Institute that produces the vaccine is stretched as it tries to satisfy the domestic demand.
