- Counties, especially in the northern region, have registered low vaccinations with Tana River having fully vaccinated just 3.6 per cent of the target population.
- A total of 13,218 people received the Covid-19 booster shots since the exercise was rolled out on January 1.
The Council of Governors has raised concerns over low uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in the arid and semi-arid counties.
CoG chairman Martin Wambora is calling on leaders in the respective counties to increase awareness and outreach campaigns to boost the numbers that have remained relatively low since the drive started in March last year.
The latest data from the Health ministry shows that counties, especially in the northern region, have registered low vaccinations, with Tana River having fully vaccinated just 3.6 per cent of the target population.
Others are Turkana with 4.4 per cent, Wajir with 4.6 per cent, Narok with 5.2 per cent, Bomet with 5.3 per cent and West Pokot with 5.3 per cent. Mandera, Garissa, Kilifi, Marsabit and Isiolo have 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.6 and 7.1 per cent respectively.
“We note with concern the low uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine among communities in the Asal counties. We call upon the leaders in these counties to continue reaching out to the population to boost the numbers," he said.
“Vaccination is the only known strategy against the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Some 13,218 people have received the Covid-19 booster shots since the exercise was rolled out on January 1.
Kenya opened up the administration of the Covid-19 vaccine booster in the latest vaccination guidelines released less than two weeks ago.
The updated guidelines by the Health ministry will now see Kenyans who had been fully vaccinated receive an additional dose of either Moderna, AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine six months after completion of the primary series.
“This will go a long way to boost our immunity as new mutations of the virus crop up,” Wambora said.
He said 4.1 million people are fully vaccinated across the 47 counties. Out of this number, healthcare workers are 221,893; 82.1 per cent of all the healthcare workers in the country.
The data shows 191,275 security officers are fully vaccinated, 366,945 teachers fully vaccinated. The focus now is on vaccinating more teachers as schools reopen this week.
Similarly, 16,054 inmates have been fully vaccinated, 21,130 teenagers (between 15 and 18 years), and 770,567 people aged over 50 years.
“The new strain of coronavirus is highly transmissible. In order for us to cut the spread, we must put in place stringent measures to help fight the virus,” Wambora said.
"The council therefore urges county governments to create awareness on the safety of vaccines and increase the vaccination campaign to reach a wide coverage including those that are seeking booster doses, pregnant women and children aged between the ages of 15 to 18.”
Wambora said 21,217 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the country between December 27 and January 5, with 73 deaths associated with the virus.
However, the Covid situation report shows a low number of severe cases and low admission rates despite a very high number of persons testing positive.
-Edited by SKanyara