NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 28 – Kenya has received the second batch of 210,600 doses of Pfizer vaccine from the United States as the country steps up its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The second batch arrived in Nairobi 10 days after the country received the first consignment of 795,000 doses of the vaccine from the US on September 17 in the global campaign to fast track the vaccination of populations against the virus.
“The second donation of 210, 600 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines via COVAX facility arrives in Kenya. We are committed to leading the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating vaccine distribution worldwide,” the US Embassy in Kenya said in a statement on Tuesday.
The new arrival is expected to boost Kenya’s vaccination efforts as the Ministry of Health targets to vaccinate at least 5.8 million people by October 20 when the country will mark the Mashujaa Day.
On Monday Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the move will bring the country closer to the full reopening of the economy as it targets to vaccinate at least 10 million people by December.
Kagwe called on Kenyans who are yet to be vaccinated to do so and become the country’s 58th Mashujaa Day heroes and heroines.
The Health CS stated that the number of people seeking to be vaccinated against COVID-19 had significantly increased and encouraged more to present themselves for the jab.
By September 27, Kagwe said over 3.6 million people had been vaccinated including 889,298 who were fully vaccinated.
“It is encouraging that 3.3 percent of Kenyans are fully vaccinated with 3, 627, 280 vaccines having been administered,” Kagwe said on Monday.
Kenya is now deploying five different types of vaccines namely; AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson in its efforts to combat the virus which has resulted in 5,109 deaths since March 2020.
The Chairperson of the National Vaccine Task force Dr Willis Akhwale on said last Thursday the government had not started vaccinating people using the Pfizer doses due to lack of specialized inoculation equipment.
“The Pfizer doses require specialized needles and syringes and these supplies are being delivered next week from the US so that we can start deploying it,” said Akhwale.
Dr Akwhale said there are adequate storage facilities for the vaccine and that health workers had been trained in administering the doses as it has been the case with other vaccine types available in the country.
Kenya reported the lowest coronavirus positivity rate to have been recorded since the beginning of the year at 2.2 per cent after 54 people tested positive from a sample size of 2,501, which pushed cases documented since March 2020 to 248, 515.
Kenya is currently reeling from the negative economic impacts of the virus which has affected livelihoods.
The hospitality industry, tourism and the transport sector are some of the worst hit by the Covid-19 crisis.
The National Tourism Risk and Crisis Management Committee survey report published in June 2020 indicates a massive booking cancellation which dealt a blow to the tourism sector in the country.
About 64.5 per cent of the respondents that took part in the survey reported over 90 per cent of cancellations of existing bookings experienced by their organizations.
The organizations also reported total business closure, increased borrowings and eviction from current premises due to unpaid running costs as other impacts of the pandemic on their businesses.
The report further suggested that the international tourist market was the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic (81.3 per cent), followed by the domestic (64.2 per cent) and regional tourist markets (38.3 per cent).
