The government received the first batch of Moderna vaccines on Monday, boosting plans to reach the 10 million vaccinated target by the end of the year.
This is the second type of Covid vaccine to arrive in Kenya, and more are expected to arrive, according to the Ministry of Health.
By August 21, the government had received a total of 2,730,100 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, and with the arrival of Moderna, the vaccine numbers moved to 3,610,560.
As the government continues to receive different brands of vaccines, Kenyans have questioned if they will be allowed to choose which will be administered to them.
However, Dr Willis Akhwale, the chairperson of the task force on vaccine deployment said Kenyans will not choose which vaccine to get.
During an interview on Citizen TV on Sunday night, Akhwale said the government has enough storage facilities for the Moderna vaccine, which requires to be stored at -20 degrees centigrade.
Akhwale said, “All these vaccines are the same. When it comes to their efficacy and you look at how they prevent severe disease and death, they are all the same.”
“When you book to get the jab at a facility, you will be given the vaccine that is there. You are not going to choose.”
The chair added that there might be two types of vaccines in some of the facilities where uptake is high, such as Kenyatta National Hospital, and Mbagathi Hospital.
“In lower volume facilities, there will be only one vaccine available, and when you go there, be assured that the WHO-approved vaccines are all the same.”
Meanwhile, the government is preparing to receive other types of vaccines, including the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Edited by CM
