Kenya has received its first batch of the Pfizer vaccine donated by the US.
The consignment of 795,600 doses arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Friday afternoon onboard a DHL Cargo Aircraft, delivered by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The consignment was received by Health PS Susan Mochache. Foreign CAS Ababu Namwamba, and the US Embassy in Kenya Chargé d’Affaires Eric Kneedler.
This is part of the 2.03 million doses donations by the US government as part of efforts to boost Covid-19 vaccination in the country.
Kenya has so far received four approved types of jabs, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, and the single-shot Johson and Jonson vaccines.
Kenya received 12 ultra-cold chain freezers from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and 15 softboxes from the UPS Foundation as part of the preparations for the eventual rollout.
According to the manufacturer, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or BNT162b2 has 95 per cent effectiveness.
Pfizer needs to be stored at extremely cold temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius. With the freezers, the shelf life of the vaccines can be guaranteed for six months.
The specialty shippers can hold up to five "pizza box" trays of vials and be refreshed with dry ice every five days for up to 15 days to keep the vaccine at the right frozen temperature.
The arrival of the two types will bring to five the total number of vaccines being deployed in the country by next week.
