Kenya approves Russian Covid vaccine for use - RDIF

Morocco and Kenya have approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for use against the new coronavirus, Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday.

The fund, which is promoting the vaccine globally, said that 48 countries had now approved Sputnik V for use. 

 On March 3, 1.02 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

The vaccines were transported by Unicef as part of the Covax facility, which aims to provide equitable access to vaccines for all countries around the world.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was touted as having several advantages, including it being easier to produce, store and going for $3 (Sh329) per dose.

That reflects the prices paid by governments like the United States that have placed orders for tens or even hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine.