NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – The Ministry of Health has set up an electronic data management system to monitor deployment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in counties.
Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache on Friday said the system will enable the health ministry to track the vaccines, so as to ensure the stocks are professionally managed.
The system was developed by experts from the Ministry of ICT and Youth Affairs.
“It will help the reporting and addressing of any adverse effects and it will finally provide us with reliable reports that we require for decision making and for policy,” Mochache stated.
The vaccination exercise having been launched, the ministry said the doses will now be dispatched to the county referral facilities.
Mochache said the vaccination exercise will be conducted at all the country’s County referral hospitals from March 8.
Health Director General Patrick Amoth and Kenyatta National Hospital CEO Evans Kamuri were the first to receive the jab during a launch presided over by Mochache at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Mochache said the government has put in place robust policy measures on how the vaccination campaign will be conducted and advised that the public not to be misled with false information concerning the jab.
Dr Richard Ayah, who is in the Vaccines Taskforce explained, that the vaccination process will commence with the vaccine recipient completing a registration form where they will also be required to give consent to be inoculated.
They will then get the vaccine then rest for 30 minutes before being released with an acknowledgment form.
Kenya received the first batch of the much-awaited COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday night, with priority placed on healthcare workers.