• The jabs arrived in Kenya on Monday night and were taken to the national vaccines store in Athi River for distribution.
• Health facilities within Nairobi were expected to get doses from the batch Tuesday morning.
The government will expedite the deployment of 358,700 doses of the Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine donated by Denmark, which expire on July 31.
The jabs arrived in Kenya on Monday night and were taken to the national vaccines store in Athi River for distribution.
Health facilities within Nairobi were expected to get doses from the batch Tuesday morning. Others would be sent to the nine regional depots.
Head of vaccines deployment task force Willis Akhwale said despite the short expiry period, Kenya has one of the most efficient rollout plans.
“So with these ones, and the capacity to even vaccinate 50,000 people per day, we believe in two to three weeks we will have used this particular consignment,” Dr Akhwale said.
“The current vaccines are going to be distributed to all facilities including the private sector to ensure that there is no crowding. I want to assure Kenyans that even the private sector facilities will be given the doses to vaccinate.”
The consignment is a major boost to the administration of the second dose, as there were only 5,000 doses left in stock.
Healthcare workers and other essential service providers will be allowed to jump the queue.
Image: WILLIAM WANYOIKE
Medical practitioners have already complained about missing their second jab despite being alerted to get it in various facilities.
The Health ministry said only those to get the second jab will get vaccinated. The rest of the people who have yet to get a single shot were asked to wait for the government to procure Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
“We are hopeful that in the next coming week we will be receiving additional vaccines from the Covax facility; around 180,000 will be coming in to add on to what we have already received,” Health principal secretary Susan Mochache said.
“We are also aware that the US government had also offered to donate some vaccines and Kenya is among the few countries that have already been identified to receive those vaccines,” she added.
White House Monday evening announced plans to release 55 million doses to be shared globally, with Kenya as one of the beneficiaries of the vaccines.
By Monday, 192,093 people had received the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. From these, 52,830 are healthcare workers, 52,041 are people aged 58 years and above, 22,189 teachers and 14,020 security officers.
A total of 995,570 people had been reached with the first dose, and some 1,187,663 have been vaccinated.
“International solidarity is so important during this global pandemic. I am very proud that it has been possible for Denmark to make this donation.
"Kenya is in a difficult situation as they have received fewer vaccines than expected, and it is my hope that the vaccines from Denmark can help fill the gap until more arrive,” Danish Ambassador Ole Thonke said.
The rollout of the national vaccination campaign is being led by the Health ministry with support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines Initiative, WHO, Unicef and other partners.
Unicef is providing support to the Ministry of Health in the areas of planning, cold chain capacity, risk communication and community engagement, as well as procurement and transporting of vaccines.
“These vital Covid-19 vaccines will undoubtedly save lives, help keep health and other essential services running safely and support the recovery from the consequences of the pandemic,” Unicef representative to Kenya Maniza Zaman said.
Zaman reiterated the need for vaccine equity as 68 people in 100 in high-income countries have been vaccinated, but only two people in 100 in Africa.
(edited by o. owino)