Kenya will spend Sh2 billion on the vaccine manufacturing plant that was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the Mashujaa Day celebrations.
The Kenya Biovax Plant located at Nairobi’s Embakasi area is expected to begin operations within the next six months as a ‘fill and finish’ plant.
The fill and finish facility will be used to put the vaccines originating from the main manufacturers into syringes or vials, sealing and packaging them before distribution.
Read: Gov’t Bans Private Importation, Distribution of Covid-19 Vaccine
Addressing the press to clarify the curfew hours and operations, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said that a technical team had been working on the project and the Sh2 billion would be used in the purchase of equipment.
“Given the experience we have had in last one year and the danger of dependency on other countries for vaccines it’s pretty obvious that this is an investment that should have been made a long time ago,” said Kagwe.
“We make animal vaccines but why we don’t human vaccines is a strange phenomenon.”
Read: Kenya Receives 880,460 Doses of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Donated By the US
The CS also addressed the vaccination issue among pastoralists, saying that counties are responsible for ensuring that everyone is vaccinated. He said the Ministry of Health will also partner with AMREF and the Red Cross to intensify vaccination efforts among the pastoralists.
According to the Health CS, local production will help the country achieve the numbers required for mass vaccination. To manufacture the vaccine, Kenya will be required to partner with a vaccine patent-holder.
Kenya has in the last few months received several donations of assorted vaccines from a number of countries including the US, UK and Latvia.
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