Kenya to Receive 24 Million Free Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine

Kenya is scheduled to get 24 million free doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.  

Acting director-general in the Health Ministry Dr. Patrick Amoth said the vaccines will be received from the COVAX facility next year.

COVAX was created by several organizations including GAVI, CEPI, and WHO with an aim of accelerating the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

The facility is expected to deliver two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for millions of people mainly in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific by the end of 2021.

COVAX announced it has already secured millions of ready-made doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca candidate, ready for distribution to 92 developing countries including Kenya.

Amoth further indicated that the government has ordered an additional 12 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at a cost of Sh10 billion. The Health Ministry submitted its request for the vaccines on December 7th.

“We are hopeful that by next year we will have a vaccine. We can’t get vaccines for everybody. We have to give priority to those who are important,” Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said.

The government is seeking to have at least 30 percent of the Kenyan population vaccinated early next year with priority being given to health workers, the vulnerable, and the elderly.

Amoth pointed out that Kenya would prefer the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine but it is open to others provided by COVAX.

“We are open to other vaccines such as the Chinese Sinopharm, Russia’s Sputnik V, Pfizer-/Biontech’s, and Moderna’s based on safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy levels,” Amoth added.

On his part, CS Kagwe said Kenya will consider certain factors before purchasing a vaccine. He indicated that a vaccine must first be a vector carrier-based vaccine, be prequalified by WHO ensuring that it can be stored in a cold chain (2-8 degrees), and the cost factor.

“We consider a lot of things before we give this vaccine to people. Efficacy is key,” CS Kagwe said.