Kenya Receives Its First Batch Of Covid-19 Vaccine

On Tuesday midnight, the plane carrying Kenya’s first consignment of the coronavirus vaccine touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The vaccine was received by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and World Health Organisation representative Rudi Eggers among other officials.

The consignment of 1.02 million units of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in a Qatar Airways plane flight QR1341. The vaccine, which is best suited for Africa, will first be issued to frontline workers across the country.

Among the first to receive the dose will be healthcare workers, followed by other frontline workers such as the police and teachers. Next in line will be Kenyans with underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to coronavirus. 

The Health CS sought to allay fears that the vaccines may not be enough, clarifying that there will be subsequent batches.

The vaccines were later transported to Kitengela in Kajiado county for storage before being distributed across the country.