Mass vaccination begins, targets 10 million by December

An outreach programme targetting to increase the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country has started.

The National Multi-Agency Command Centre (NMACC) on Covid-19, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), started the two-day Covid-19 vaccination outreach programme yesterday at six centres in Embakasi South.

The centres are Taj Mall bus stage, Jacaranda Grounds, Kariobangi Market, Holy Ghost Church Dandora Phase 3, PCEA Church and Kings Celebration Soweto Gospel Church.

21-year-old Quincy Muiyekwe, a resident of Embakasi, said that he decided to take the vaccine following the increasing cases of people being admitted without underlying conditions. 

"I will advise young people not to follow the conspiracy theories on Instagram and Twitter that it is just water or the side effects are severe. Everybody needs to get vaccinated," he said

Another resident Rose Wambui was relieved when she heard about the programme. "We had looked for the vaccine unsuccessfully." 

"We had heard of scary side effects of the vaccine which include blood clots. But after seeing close people being vaccinated and they are okay, I decided to get the jab so that life can go back to normal," she added.

The success of the pilot vaccination outreach programme will motivate the stakeholders to take the exercise into other areas.

Chairperson of the vaccine task force Willis Akhwale, while receiving 180,000 doses of the AstraZeneca from Greece on Friday, said the government targets to vaccinate 10 million people by the end of the year. 

The total number of vaccines administered as of August 6, 2021, is 1,793,520. The total first doses are 1,097,830 while the second doses are 695,690.

So far 63.4 per cent have received the second dose, with the majority being men at 55 per cent. Adults who are fully vaccinated are 2.6 per cent.

All adults are encouraged to get the vaccine unless advised otherwise by their doctor.

Kenya's latest Covid-19 situation indicates a positivity rate of 14.8 per cent, way above the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of five per cent for the pandemic to be declared under control.

109 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 46 of whom are on ventilator support and 56 on supplemental oxygen.