NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 27- The Ministry of Health now says that it is targeting to vaccinate at least 5.8 million people by October 20 when the country will mark the Mashujaa Day.
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 has urged Kenyans who are yet to be vaccinated to do so and become the country’s 58th Mashujaa Day heroes and heroines.
Kagwe said 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.
Kenya is now deploying five different types of vaccines namely AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson.
On Monday, Kagwe reported the lowest COVID-19 positivity rate to have been recorded this year at 2.2 percent after 54 people tested positive from a sample size of 2,501, raising the total caseload to 248, 515.
Seven patients succumbed to the disease, raising fatalities to 5,109.