NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 7 – Kenya has received an additional 4.2 million Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses.
The vaccines donated by the Government of Germany through the COVAX facility were transported by UNICEF, officials said.
This is by far the largest single donation to Kenya to date and takes the total number of vaccines received this year to over 17 million, enough to reach President Uhuru Kenyatta’s target of vaccinating 10 million people by the end of this month.
Another 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines were received from Argentina.
UNICEF Representative to Kenya Maniza Zaman said, “Across the globe, UNICEF is helping to deliver an expected 1.4 billion COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX by the end of 2021 for health workers, teachers and the most vulnerable people on our planet. This is an unprecedented undertaking but as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world, UNICEF is best placed to do it.”
By Tuesday, Kenya had administered 7.5 million vaccines across the country, according to the Ministry of Health.