The government has refuted claims of the existence of fake Covid-19 vaccines in the country allegedly brought in from Uganda.
Speaking Thursday at the Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa, Government Spokesman Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna assured Kenyans that the vaccines in hospitals countrywide are genuine. He urged Kenyans to go for the jab.
This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised a red flag over the existence fake Covid-19 vaccines circulating in Uganda and asked neighbouring countries to be on high alert.
“The government cannot allow fake vaccines to enter into the country,” said Mr Oguna.
However, he raised the alarm over some Kenyans whom he said are doing “illegal” businesses using the vaccines.
“We are aware of people who have already been vaccinated twice but they are conducting business. They wake up in the morning, go to the vaccination centres to line up for the jab, only to later sell their space at Sh100; this is wrong. Those found selling their lines in the vaccination centres will be arrested and charged in court. The jab is free,” said Mr Oguna.
“If there are other reports (about any other vaccines), [those are] fake. CNN also aired a story that people are scared of going for the jab. That is untrue because as at now, many Kenyans have been vaccinated, especially the elderly. We are now urging the youth and those with opportunistic diseases to go for the jab. We don’t have fake vaccines in Kenya,” he insisted.
According to Ugandan authorities, more than 800 people and an undisclosed number of clients from several companies based in the Kampala Metropolitan Area received fake Covid-19 jabs a few weeks ago.
Some of the recipients have since died in the second wave of the pandemic, the Ugandan government revealed.
Dr Wallen Naamara, the head of State House Health Monitoring Unit, said people who took the fake Covid-19 jabs should not get worried because there is a possibility that the fraudsters could have injected them with water that was put in stolen vaccine bottles.
Dr Naamara told a press conference in Kampala that the suspects, including a doctor who is currently on the run, duped several people and companies and injected them with fake vaccines between May 15 and June 17.
Ugandan State House detectives also arrested two nurses from Nakawa in Kampala on accusations of vaccinating people using a suspected fake vaccine.
