Moderna vaccine aid to Kenya pushes total doses received past 5.1 million
Kenya continues to make a steady progress in its Covid-19 vaccination campaign with the latest receipt of 880,320 Moderna vaccines pushing the total doses received to 5,146,780.
The second shipment from the US, which was delivered under drug sharing platform COVAX, brings to 1.76 million doses of Mordana vaccine aid from President Biden’s administration after an initial batch of 880,460 was received late August.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Rashid Aman urged Kenyans to come out and get vaccinated, saying the government aims to attain the target of vaccinating 10 million people by December, this year.
“For us to reopen our economy we need to have achieved herd immunity… government is doing its part to acquire vaccines… Kenyans should avail themselves to be vaccinated,” he said.
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“No vaccine is superior to the other in the prevention of severe disease and death. Don’t focus on brand names… We expect to add the Pfizer vaccine that we will receive from the US government. All vaccines are equally good. Let us not be selective. We appeal to our county governments to support our efforts.”
The CAS also appealed to those who took their first dose and are due for the second dose but have not turned up for it to go and get the life-saving shot.
“It’s important to remember that although the first dose provides one with some protection, full protection only comes about when one is fully vaccinated.”
Further, Kenya received the first consignment of one shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine purchased by the government to bolster inoculation efforts on September 4.
Kenya is also expected to receive another two million doses of Pfizer vaccine from the US this month.
More doses of the vaccine are expected in the coming weeks as the country aims to have at least 10 million people fully vaccinated by end of the year.
Meanwhile, the government is targeting to increase daily vaccination rates to 150,000 by December this year. Vaccination posts will also be increased from 800 to 3,000 by December with the number rising to 7,877 by June next year.
Kenya is prioritizing those aged above 58 years, health care workers, security officers and teachers, who remain at the highest risk of contracting the virus, in the ongoing vaccination drive.
By Sunday, a total of 2,050,377 Kenyans had received their first dose of the Covid vaccine while 812,151 Kenyans are fully inoculated, representing 2.98 per cent of the entire adult population are now fully vaccinated.
