Kenya to Continue Administering AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Despite Safety Fears

Kenya’s Health Ministry says it will continue administering the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine despite safety concerns.

Several countries in Europe, including Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Latvia suspended the use of the vaccine following reports that some recipients developed blood clots after being vaccinated.

Health CAS Rashid Aman said about 10,000 people have been inoculated since the vaccination drive was rolled out in the country on March 5th, adding that no cases of side effects have been reported.

“We are continuing administering the vaccines. The information that is out there right now does not seem to indicate any link between vaccine administration and these particular clotting events that have been reported,” Aman said.

He added: “We have not covered a large number. I think we are looking at about 10,000 vaccinated so far. We have not seen any reactions reported in this period and we will continue to monitor as we await the assessments that are being done at a global level.” 

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to continue using the vaccine, saying its benefits outweigh its risks.
 
“In extensive vaccination campaigns, it is routine for countries to signal potential adverse events following immunization. This does not necessarily mean that the events are linked to the vaccination itself, but it is good practice to investigate them,” WHO said.

Kenya received the first consignment of 1.025 million AstraZeneca jabs from the Serum Institute of India early this month.