Far fewer Nairobians will be travelling home for Christmas this year because they are cash-strapped and fear possible Covid infection (see P23).
Meanwhile Kenya has ordered 24 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from the global vaccine alliance Gavi at a cost of Sh10 billion (see P2). That works out at around Sh400 per dose which makes it likely that is the Astra-Zeneca Oxford vaccine as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines cost around Sh3,000 per dose.
Every person will need two doses so this will only be enough to cover a quarter of the population.
The vaccine is also unlikely to arrive in sufficiently large quantities before the middle of 2021.
The majority of the population will have to live with the threat of Covid for a long time yet. Nairobians are not crazy if they do not go home for Christmas.
Thankfully there are simple ways to protect ourselves and those around us. We know about masks and social distancing but good ventilation also protects you. So if you are meeting people, do it outside or make certain all the windows are open if you are indoors.
Quote of the day: "The creation of agricultural enterprises represents one of the most effective ways to stimulate rural development."
Calestous Juma
The Kenyan academic died on December 15, 2017
