Hospitals run out of BCG vaccine

By Munene Kamau

A shortage of BCG vaccines has affected administration of preventive health services to 1,300 children in health facilities.

The vaccines, which have been out of stock countrywide for the last three months, have crippled Government efforts to combat tuberculosis, which is a killer disease.

The vaccine is administered to children below the age of five.

Speaking in his office on Wednesday, acting Kirinyaga District Medical Officer of Health Joseph Ngochi said the situation was so serious and health centres including Kerugoya District Hospital do not have the jab.

The health centres that have been offering the vaccine on scheduled programmes stopped last month.

Dr Ngochi said they have not received any communication from regional suppliers in Nyeri, as a consignment of BCG vaccines that was supposed to dock at Kilindini port in Mombasa has not yet arrived.

“We received some stocks of assorted vaccines last week from our suppliers in Nyeri, but not a single one for BCG,” he said.

He, however, assured that they expect to receive new supplies in a fortnight. On plans by donors to stop funding programmes to supply antiretroviral drugs to people living with HIV, the medic said they have not encountered any complications in the county.