Community health volunteers are pursuing almost 1 million people who have had their first AstraZeneca jab but are yet to get their second dose (see P10).
Around 2.7 million vaccines have been administered across Kenya with 1.9 million being first doses and 802,926 being second doses. So around 58 percent have not had their second dose.
This is crazy. One dose of AstraZeneca gives around 65 percent protection against Covid. Two doses increase that to over 90 percent. So if you are double vaccinated, you are less likely to get infected or to infect others.
Some Kenyans might be waiting for the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which are soon coming. But both the WHO and the government have advised that it is not a good idea to mix and match vaccines.
Those delaying the second jab may have suffered flu-like symptoms after their first jab. But that is a good thing, not a bad thing. It shows that the vaccine has vigorously activated their immune systems against the Covid virus.
So all those Kenyans who got the first jab should make certain that they get double-vaccinated as soon as possible.
Quote of the day: "In me the tiger sniffs the rose."
Siegfried Sassoon
The English soldier and writer died on September 1, 1967
