Kenya Receives 880,320 More Moderna Vaccine Doses from the US

Kenya has received more COVID-19 vaccines donated by the United States government through the COVAX facility.

The consignment of 880,320 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 jab arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Monday morning.

The latest delivery brings the total number of the Moderna vaccine shots donated by the US to 1.76 million after receiving an initial batch of 880,460 doses on August 23rd.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Rashid Aman said Kenya also expects to receive a donation of the Pfizer vaccine from the US. He urged Kenyans to come out and get vaccinated in order to attain a target of vaccinating 10 million people by December this year.

“For us to reopen our economy we need to have achieved herd immunity, the government is doing its part to acquire vaccines. Kenyans should avail themselves to be vaccinated,” Aman said.

He added: “No vaccine is superior to the other in the prevention of severe disease and death. Don’t focus on brand names. We expect to add the Pfizer vaccine that we will receive from the US government. All vaccines are equally good. Let us not be selective. We appeal to our county governments to support our efforts.”

Last week, the country also received the first consignment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The batch of 141,600 shots is part of the 13.3 million J&J doses that the government has procured through the Africa Vaccines Acquisition Trust that was set up in November 2020.