Deputy President William Ruto has finally received a Covid-19 jab after weeks of Kenyans asking him to lead by example.
The second in command and his family opted for the Russian-manufactured Sputnik V vaccine days after President Uhuru Kenyatta and the First Family received their Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine injections at State House, Nairobi.
DP Ruto received the jab alongside his wife Rachael at their Karen residence in Nairobi on Tuesday.
He encouraged Kenyans to participate in the exercise as part of the efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic that has literally brought the world to a standstill.
“COVID-19 vaccines are our safe and effective tools in saving lives and managing the disease,” the DP posted on social media.
Read: Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 Vaccine Now Available In Kenya
Ruto received the vaccine moments after city lawyers Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Donald Kipkorir became the first and second recipients of the Russian vaccine in the country.
First Kenyan to take the Sputnik V in KENYA…@sputnikvaccine @DonaldBKipkorir @makaumutua @WehliyeMohamed pic.twitter.com/cWWZF6flH0
— Ahmednasir Abdullahi SC (@ahmednasirlaw) March 30, 2021
Today, I became the Second Kenya to take the Russia COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine … I have full confidence in the vaccine to protect me from all COVID-19 variants. pic.twitter.com/uukI9yctWA
— Donald B Kipkorir (@DonaldBKipkorir) March 30, 2021
The Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Kenya last Thursday, complementing the AstraZeneca vaccine that arrived in the country early this month.
This is after the vaccine got a green light from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for emergency use in Kenya. The jab will cost about Ksh11,000.
At least 75,000 doses of the jab have been shipped into the country, but are only available to those aged 18 years and above.
Read Also: Poisons Board Upgrades System for Kenyans to Report Adverse Effects of Covid-19 Vaccine
Efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6 percent as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, becoming one of only three vaccines in the world with an efficacy of over 90 percent.
“This interim analysis of the phase 3 trial of Gam-COVID-Vac showed 91·6% efficacy against COVID-19 and was well tolerated in a large cohort,” said Lancet in their report.
The manufacturers of the vaccine say that they are collaborating with the developers of AstraZeneca on a joint clinical trial to improve the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Read Also: Here’s The Full List of Hospitals Where You Can Get Your Covid-19 Vaccine
Kenya approved the Sputnik-V vaccine a day after Mauritius, becoming the 56th country globally to approve the vaccine for use locally.
Sputnik V had been approved earlier in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq, North Macedonia, Morocco, Jordan, Namibia, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Cameroon and Seychelles.
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