The government is set to officially roll out the COVID-19 vaccination drive on Friday, days after the first batch of vaccines arrived in the country.
The launch will be done at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where the first Kenyan is expected to receive a COVID-19 jab.
“We have been training 400 health workers drawn from all the counties, who will be administering the jab. They will conclude their training on Thursday with a dry-run of what they will be doing after which we may have the first person being vaccinated by Friday,” a member of the COVID-19 vaccine taskforce told Nation.
“We did not want them to train early and wait for too long. We want them to start with the vaccine roll-out when they are still fresh from class.”
Dr. Willis Akhwale, the chairperson of the COVID-19 vaccine taskforce said healthcare workers will be prioritized, with those inoculated receiving a second dose after eight weeks.
Others who are on the priority list for COVID-19 vaccines include security officers, teachers, vulnerable persons, and hospitality sector workers.
In the first phase of the vaccination drive, the Health Ministry is seeking to immunize 1.25 million people by the end of June.
The second phase targeting about 10 million Kenyans above 50 years, and those above 18 years but with underlying health conditions will run from July 2021 to June 2022. The third phase will see five million Kenyans receive the jab.
Kenya received the first consignment of 1.025 million AstraZeneca doses 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.
That is all you need to know…
That is all you need to know and see the vaccine at work in KENYA. The next doses will be sold in the same markets where the masks and gloves donated from China where sold.