The latest data from the Ministry of Health shows that approximately half of Kenya’s elderly population has been jabbed against Covid-19 while 44 percent have been fully vaccinated.

This increase, according to the ministry, is attributed to the spirited campaign between the ministries of Health and Interior in partnership with community health volunteers (CHVs), which aided in mobilizing the elderly over the past year.

As of December 1, 2021, only 21 percent of people in this group had been inoculated, a situation that posed a lot of worries considering their higher risk of contracting the virus.

“These are people who should be protected because they are at risk,” National Vaccines Task Force Chairman Dr Willis Akhwale said.

In December last year, the Ministry of Health introduced a vaccination drive targeting the elderly.

This month, it partnered with the interior to ramp up the vaccinations. County commissioners and chiefs and their assistants worked with county governments and community health volunteers.

Read also: Taxman’s eye on social media postings good for enhanced compliance

Nevertheless, the percentage of elderly people compared with other priority groups such as teachers, healthcare workers, and security officers is still low. Data shows that more than 100 percent of health workers have been fully vaccinated as well as about 90 percent of teachers.

Further, the country has so far administered over 15.4 million doses of vaccines. Of these, 7.5 million are partially vaccinated while those fully vaccinated are 7,027,862.

Another 725,567 doses are administered to those between 15 to 17 years while 228,641 are booster doses.

The uptake of the second dose among those who received their first dose was at 62.9 percent with the proportion of adults fully vaccinated at 25.8 percent.

Meanwhile, 24 more people have tested positive for the virus from a sample size of 4,050 tested in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 0.6 percent.

Total confirmed positive cases are now 322,497 and cumulative tests so far conducted are 3,299,132.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health noted that 85 patients have recovered from the virus pushing the total recoveries to 302,829

Unfortunately, one death was reported, a late death reported after conducting facility record audits in the month of February. The cumulative fatalities in the country now stand at 5,632.

According to Health CS Mutahi Kagwe, 161 patients are currently admitted to various health facilities countrywide, while 679 are under the home-based isolation and care program. 4 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 3 of them on ventilatory support and 1 on supplemental oxygen.

Another 31 patients are on supplemental oxygen, 28 of them are in the general wards, while three patients are in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

[email protected]