Seven hospitals out of the 16 chosen health facilities will start Covid-19 vaccination this week.
Nairobi county which received 72,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine is targeting at least 34,790 health care workers.
“I want to assure that all health workers will be vaccinated from both public and private facilities,” said Nairobi Metropolitan Service director general Mohammed Badi.
The seven hospitals offering the vaccine are National Spinal Injury Hospital, Mathare Hospital, Moi Airbase, Mbagathi Memorial Hospital, Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital.
Also the State House clinic will be carrying out vaccination.
Speaking during the launch of vaccination at Mutuini hospital on Tuesday, Badi revealed that the exercise will be done in three phases with the first one targeting health care workers inclusive of community health volunteers and facility support staff.
The second phase will target those with conditions like diabetes and hypertension among others while phase three will target all other eligible persons.
Badi noted that the other nine hospitals namely Mama Lucy, Pumwani maternity, Jamaa Mission, St Francis Community, Coptic Ngong Road, Aga Khan, Ruaraka, Uhai Neema, Nairobi Hospital and Mater Hospital will be utilised in the next phase of the rollout of the vaccine.
NMS is targeting to vaccinate over 5,000 health care workers in the public sector, 22,496 in the private sector and additional 7,300 community health volunteers.
“There is no known cure for Covid-19 and prevention is key. Getting vaccinated protects people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from the disease. Covid-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection," Badi noted.
As of March 7, Nairobi had reported 48,358 cases of Covid-19 which accounts for 44 per cent of all the cases (108,827) reported in Kenya since the pandemic started last year.
Out of the 18,761 deaths that have been reported in the country, 681 are from Nairobi. Cumulatively, 1,736 patients are under home-based care.
NMS director for health Dr Josephine Kibaru-Mbae who was vaccinated at the launch assured health workers that the vaccine was safe.
“As NMS, we believe the vaccine brought by the government is safe and as health workers we need to protect ourselves so that we can take care of Kenyans,” she said .
Noting that a number of health workers had been infected with the virus and even succumbed to it, Mbae insisted now is the time to lead by example and be ready ready to be immunised as the first line of defense.
NMS chief director for Health Dr Ouma Oluga said the Badi-led team will work closely with the Ministry of Health to ensure that in this first phase no single health worker is left out in the vaccination.
Through the exercise is voluntary, Oluga urged all health care workers to get vaccinated.
“Remember that health care workers come into contact with very vulnerable people with severe conditions and this is why it is important to get vaccinated in order to protect the public too,” he explained.
Oluga said Nairobi has a shortage of intensive care units, however, NMS has set up a 150-bed makeshift medical facility at Mbagathi Hospital to deal with the increasing cases of Covid-19 in Nairobi. It also comprised of 20 Intensive Care Unit beds.
Covid-19 isolation centres in Nairobi include Mbagathi, KNH and Kenyatta University Hospital.
Lady Griffin at Kenya Medical Training College also has 190 beds, Pumwani's Nursing and Training College 90 and Bahati Health Centre 50.
A 50-bed capacity wing was completed at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital where 18 beds will be in the ICU.
Also NMS with the support of National Multiagency Covid Command Centre, NMACC has established a testing laboratory at Mama Lucy Kibaki hospital.
Nairobi has remained the epicentre of the highly infectious disease since March 13, 2020 when the first case of the virus was recorded in Kenya.
-Edited by Sarah Kanyara
