•Kenya had recommended restricted use of Baricitinib for hospitalised patients with severe Covid-19 disease progression and elevated markers of systemic inflammation.
• Health lobby Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said cheap generic versions from India are already available.
Image: FILE
Kenya is expected to adopt two new drugs to treat Covid-19 after the World Health Organisation said they appear to be effective.
WHO strongly recommended the first drug, baricitinib, for patients with severe or critical Covid-19.
Baricitinib is an oral drug, currently used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
The Ministry of Health told the Star Baricitinib was already being used in Kenya, in a trial mode.
It is used for hospitalised patients with severe Covid-19 disease progression and elevated markers of systemic inflammation.
"Specialist input would be required in defining the appropriate patient population, weighing benefits against risk and cost considerations," the ministry said.
The drug was also tested in the United States and in the Randomised Evaluation of Covid-19 Therapy (Recovery) trial in the United Kingdom.
This was the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with Covid-19. It took place in 177 hospital sites across the UK.
Health lobby Doctors Without Borders said cheap generic versions from India are already available. They cost about Sh8,500 per treatment course, which is once daily for 14 days.
“Equitable access to therapeutics such as baricitinib will be key for treatment providers to save as many lives as possible,” Dr Márcio da Fonseca, infectious diseases medical advisor at MSF said.
WHO also conditionally recommended the use of sotrovimab drug, for treating mild or moderate Covid-19 in patients who are at high risk of hospitalisation.
“This includes patients who are older, immunocompromised, having underlying conditions like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and those unvaccinated,” WHO said in a statement.
This drug is not yet being used in Kenya for Covid-19 treatment.
Sotrovimab is an alternative to casirivimab-imdevimab, a monoclonal antibody cocktail recommended by WHO in September 2021.
Studies are ongoing on the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies against Omicron but early laboratory studies show that sotrovimab retains its activity.
The current recommendations, forming the eighth update of WHO’s living guidelines on therapeutics and Covid-19, are based on evidence from seven trials.
The trials involved over 4,000 patients with non-severe, severe, and critical Covid-19.
“The extent to which these medicines will save lives depends on how widely available and affordable they will be,” WHO said in a statement.
However, Kenya is currently training its focus on vaccination, with the Health ministry saying it will take vaccines to schools beginning end of this month.
The ministry in November last year opened up issuance of Pfizer vaccine to teenagers aged 15 to 18 years. This was after data reviewed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board found it safe to be used among children aged 12 years and above.
Vaccines deployment taskforce chairman Willis Akhwale on Friday said the uptake among teenagers has been low.
Data from the ministry shows that 30,351 doses have been administered to teenagers between 15 and 18 years.
“We started it when schools were closing, so the uptake has been slow, but we are hoping to work with higher institutions and start drives in schools most likely later this month or early February,” Akhwale said.
Even though children are at a lower risk of becoming severely ill with Covid-19 compared to adults, vaccinating them helps protect the whole family and slows the spread of the virus in the community.
To date, 11.09 million vaccines have been administered across the country.
Of this number, 6.7 million people have been partially vaccinated, 4.7 million fully vaccinated and 90,334 doses have been given as booster shots.
The proportion of the adult population fully vaccinated is 17.5 per cent.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)