NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 8- Kenya received 182,400 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine donated by France on Thursday to boost the fight against COVID-19.
The vaccines were donated by the French Government to the COVAX facility and transported by UNICEF.
The flight carrying the vaccines was received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) by senior Government officials led by Chairperson of COVID Vaccine Deployment Taskforce Dr Willis Akhwale, French Political Counselor Emmanuel Dagron and UNICEF Representative Maniza Zaman.
In a statement, Akhwale said the vaccines came at a critical time and will ensure health workers, teachers and other essential workers are protected, and that health centers countrywide can continue providing vital care to people affected by COVID-19
“The Kenyan Government is very grateful to the Government of France for this generous donation, which will support our national COVID-19 vaccination campaign,” Dr Akhwale said. “We have recently embarked on vaccinating our people for the second dose, so this comes at a critical time.”
French Counselor Dagron said, France, European Union and and COVAX are keen to work with Kenya in her effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19.
“We hope that these 182 400 doses of vaccine will help to give access to a second dose to many at-risk Kenyans. President Macron has pledged to give 60 million doses of vaccine to countries in need around the world, including Kenya, before the end of 2021. By the end of June, 2.6 million doses have already.
Kenya is currently prioritizing second doses for health workers, teachers, other essential workers and people aged over 58 years.
By July 7, Kenya had recorded 85,060 infections with 3,705 fatalities and 174,522 recoveries.
A total of 1,511,693 people had been vaccinated among them 489,711 who had received their second jab.
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