Home » 350,000 AstraZeneca doses to arrive by Friday
News

350,000 AstraZeneca doses to arrive by Friday

[ad_1]

At least 350,000 doses of Astrazeneca vaccine are expected in the country by Friday, the Health Ministry has said.

The doses will be used for the second jab, with priority given to healthcare workers.

As of Monday, 128,744 people had received their second dose.

From the number, 37,918 are healthcare workers, 34,926 people aged 58 and above, 13,673 teachers, 8,958 security officers and 33,926 members of the public.

In total, 987,277 Kenyans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Health PS Susan Mochache on Monday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to source for additional doses, adding that the plan is to ensure that at least 500,000 Kenyans are fully vaccinated.

“I urge all those who had received the first dose to come out and get the second jab so that we have more people vaccinated against the disease especially the frontline workers and the elderly since they are vulnerable,” the PS said.

“We are continuing to look for more vaccines and we are expecting 350,000 by Friday so there is no need to panic. We want to make sure that at least 500,000 people get their second dose,” she added.

The ministry data estimates the uptake of the second dose to be at 12.8 per cent, with 56.4 per cent being men and 43.6 per cent women. The proportion of adults fully vaccinated still stands at less than one per cent.

To attain herd immunity, at least 60 per cent of the population in the country should be fully vaccinated.

Kenya received 1.02 million doses of the AZ vaccine from the Covax facility in March with the second consignment that was expected in the country in April having delayed due to the global supply chain challenges.

Another 100,000 doses were received from the government of India, with another 70,000 doses received from South Sudan.

The government rolled out the second dose of the Astra last month after the lapse of the 12 weeks waiting period as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Edited by Henry Makori

[ad_2]

Source link