Canada has donated to Kenya a consignment of 358,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which arrived early Thursday aboard a Qatar flight.
Kenya, which had received 3.6 million doses of AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccine, had by Wednesday administered 2,773,239 doses across the country. Of these, total first doses are 1,968,656 while second doses are 804,583.
Health Permanent Secretary Susan Mochache while receiving the doses at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport said that the additional vaccines will help in accelerating the campaign to fully vaccinate most of the Kenyan population.
Handing over the vaccines to the country, Canadian Ambassador to Kenya David Anthony Da Silva said that the country must ensure that the most vulnerable population in the pandemic receive the Covid-19 vaccines.
The PS, Mochache, reiterated the sentiments by the Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, on rogue health officials administering Covid-19 vaccines illegally.
“Following the directive from the CS, we have so far arrested seven people in line with vaccine malpractice and one hospital has lost its license as a vaccination centre,” she said.
The government expects about 4.1 million doses of vaccines to be shipped in the country in the coming weeks.
On Friday evening, about 393, 000 Johnson and Johnson vaccines will arrive in the country.
Ms Mochache revealed that the government's inclusion of the private sector in the vaccination exercise has seen the Kenya Private Sector Alliance raise about Sh 2.7 Billion which will be used to buy 200, 000 Johnson and Johnson doses of the vaccine.
