The Ministry of Health has opened up Covid-19 vaccinations to all people aged 18 years and above due to the sufficient doses in the country.
Initially, the focus was on the healthcare workers, teachers, security officers, those people aged 58 years and above as well as those with preexisting medical conditions.
The ministry later expanded the vaccination program to include people aged 50 years and above based on the fact that the majority of deaths due to Covid-19 were being recorded in this age group.
Similarly, the net was widened to include those with 18 years but at risk of severe diseases such as those with comorbid conditions.
In the new directives by the ministry, national government administration officers across the country have been tasked with the mobilisation of people both in the rural and urban areas to encourage them to turn out in large numbers to take the jab.
“I am therefore appealing to our political leaders to ask their supporters who attend their rallies who are mainly the youth to ensure they are vaccinated,” Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said in a statement on Thursday.
“We are still on course towards achieving our target of vaccinating 10 million people by the end of December this year. Vaccination remains one of the surest ways to protect our loved ones from this deadly virus which has caused untold suffering amongst our people,” he added.
The ministry had set out the weekday target of 80,000 daily vaccinations by end of September and projected the numbers to have gone up to 150,000 by end of December.
However, the current daily vaccinations stand at between 60,000 and 70,000.
“Whereas this is not where we would like to be, I am glad to note that on weekends when most facilities are closed, the daily average has increased from 3,000 to 15,000. This weekend improvement is attributed to public outreaches that are being carried out,” the CS noted.
To date, 8.9 million vaccines have been received in the country and 5.4 million administered across the country. The proportion of the adult population now fully vaccinated stands at 6.4 per cent.
So far, five vaccines have been deployed into the country. They include AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Sinopharm, Moderna, and Pfizer.
The ministry targets to reach at least 10 million by end of December and the entire adult population of 26 million by end of 2022.
“I want to appeal to our religious leaders to continue to carry out public outreaches in collaboration with the Health Ministry and county health teams to ensure as many people as possible get vaccinated.”
Last month, the ministry directed all Covid-19 vaccination posts to be open throughout the week including on weekends and public holidays.
The new directive aimed to boost the vaccine uptake with a focus directed towards outreaches in churches, markets, and public transport hubs.
The ministry is optimistic that the vaccines already in the country are enough to help achieve the December targets.
