Uhuru Warns Kenyans Against Peddling Lies on COVID-19 Vaccination

President Kenyatta on Thursday flagged off the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

Nearly half of the 1.025 million COVID-19 doses that arrived in the country this week were released from the National Vaccine Depot in Kitengela to other parts of the country.

Speaking during the flagging off, Kenyatta warned Kenyans against peddling falsehoods about the COVID-19 immunization exercise, stating that healthcare workers and frontline service providers such as security officers and teachers will be the first to be inoculated.
 
“Our policy and it has been clearly stated that we will start with frontline workers. I would appeal to members of the fourth estate to stop disseminating rumors. We met as Cabinet and made it very clear that the first persons to be administered with this vaccine shall be our frontline health workers,” said Kenyatta.

“They will be followed by our security forces, who also due to the nature of their work are equally frontline workers. Included also will be our teachers because as you know we have resumed learning and our teachers are equally just as exposed.”

“We will then move to those with co-mobilities and those above the age of 58 as we move to the rest of the population,” he added.

He pointed out that the government will continue to procure more COVID-19 vaccines, saying that the second batch is expected to arrive at the end of this month.  

Kenya received the first consignment of 1.025 million AstraZeneca jabs from the Serum Institute of India on Tuesday night.

The vaccines were brought in as part of the COVAX, a global initiative that was created to ensure that low and middle-income countries have fair access to vaccines.