Nakuru County is among the first six counties to roll out the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination programme in the country.
Some front-line workers in Nakuru, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Machakos, Meru, and Vihiga counties received the jab on Monday, amid a fresh surge of infections across the country.
Others who received their first dose of the vaccine in the six counties include health workers from public hospitals and security officers.
In Meru County, Governor Kiraitu Murungi was the first to receive the vaccination.
Meru governor Kiraitu Murungi gets Covid-19 vaccine at the Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital on March 8, 2021.
Photo credit: DAVID MUCHUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
In Nakuru, the vaccination targeting at least 11,000 health workers, members of the county health management teams, drivers, cleaners and other hospital employees from the region kicked off on Monday at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.
Nakuru is serving as the regional depot for at least five other counties in the region including Narok, Bomet, Baringo, Samburu, and Kericho.
According to the Nakuru County health executive Dr Gichuki Kariuki, the exercise will be extended to level four hospitals in the coming days.
"The region received 57,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and we are targeting health workers and other hospital employees including cleaners and drivers in the exercise. The vaccination exercise will take place in three phases. Uniformed officers and the elderly are among people who will be vaccinated in the first and second phases,” stated Dr Kariuki.
He revealed that 3,000 doses will be supplied to the Lanet Regional Military Hospital.
According to the official, the first phase involving health workers and uniformed officers will end June 2021.
Between July 2021 and June 2022, the elderly across the county aged 50 years and above and those aged 18 years and above with comorbidities will then receive the jab.
Dr Kariuki urged residents to continue observing Ministry of Health guidelines even after being vaccinated.
"This vaccine is just one of the intervention to avoid contracting the virus but the most important is observing the MoH protocols. Please do not lower your guard,” said Dr Kariuki.
Among the first people to receive the vaccine were the county directors for health Daniel Wainaina, Dr Benedict Osore and Ms Elizabeth Kiptoo among other county health managers.
This comes at a time when Nakuru has recorded 102 deaths since the outbreak of the virus in March last year.
The county's positivity rate stands at 9.3 per cent with 4,900 infections.
In the past two weeks, Nakuru has lost at least five people who succumbed to the virus.
Nakuru County received its consignment of the AstraZeneca vaccine last week and it is being stored at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) storage facility.
Other counties in the South Rift region are set to receive their doses from the Nakuru depot this week.
