Kenyans due for a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will receive it in June, 2021, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said. This means that the government has revised the duration between the jabs from eight to twelve weeks.
Kagwe cited a global shortage of the vaccine and India’s prioritazion for its own people as reasons for the delay. India has been battling a deadly wave of the virus. Kagwe said the vaccine shortages are beyond Kenya and beyond Covax.
“While considering the global shortages, the Ministry of Health has revised the duration between the administration of the first dose and the second dose from eight to 12 weeks,” Kagwe stated.
A huge number of people who had already received the first jab were scheduled to get the second one from mid-May.
Read: Here Is What You Need To Know About The COVID-19 Vaccine
Kagwe said that the Ministry of Health had engaged the African Union and was on course to procure seven million doses of Pfizer and ten million doses of Johnson & Johnson to vaccinate 13.5 million Kenyans. The country is also awaiting 20 million doses from Covax.
“This will ensure that we fully vaccinate the entire adult population by the end of June 2022,” he added.
Kenya received 1,020,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Covax on March 3. The Indian government also donated 100,000 doses of them same vaccine. As of April 17, 853, 081 Kenyans had been vaccinated. Out of those, 154,031 are health workers, 70,467 security personnel, 129,527 teachers, 259,961 persons above 58 years and other categories accounted for 226,089 of the total number.
The CS confirmed that 74 percent of health workers, 39 percent of teachers and 10 percent of people above 58 years had been vaccinated.
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