Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe. [File, Standard]
Some 163 people have today tested positive for Covid-19 in Kenya. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 92,055.
The cumulative tests are now 973,805.
From the cases, 156 are Kenyans while seven are foreigners. Eighty-four of them are men while 79 are women.
Those who tested positive were from a sample size of 2,283. The youngest is a one-year-old infant while the oldest is 88.
Nairobi continued to lead in the number of infections with 94 cases confirmed today. It was followed by Kiambu (15), Homa Bay (eight), Uasin Gishu (seven) and Nakuru (six).
Today 424 patients recovered from the disease, with 378 from the home-based care programme and 46 discharged from various hospitals. Total recoveries now stand at 73,452.
Unfortunately, six ptients succumbed to the disease bringing cumulative fatalities to 1,593.
A nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at University Hospital, on the first day of the largest immunisation programme in the British history, in Coventry, Britain December 8, 2020. [Reuters]
Meanwhile, 10 million Kenyans are set to get the Covid-19 vaccine at no cost, according to the Ministry of Health.
“Kenyans will be able to access the vaccine whether they are able to pay or not. I am able to say that confidently,” Dr Collins Tabu, Head of Immunization at the ministry said on Thursday.
In an interview with KTN, the official said the ministry is ready to handle, store and distribute the vaccines once available in the country.
He said the country is assured of getting doses enough to cover 10 million Kenyans through the World Health Organisation-led COVAX Facility. This is a donor-driven initiative to help poor countries access the vaccines.
According to Tabu, Kenya is expecting that by January the vaccines to be approved for distribution in the country.
“By then things will be clear, but we are open to other options as they become available,” he added.
A medical practitioner with samples during a coronavirus mass testing drive at Olympic Primary School, Kibra, Nairobi, on May 26,2020. [Elvis Ogina,Standard]
First to be vaccinated will be health workers followed by the elderly, depending on the availability of the vaccines.
“As more doses become available, security agencies will be considered as well as those in schools,” said the official.
There are about 40,000 health workers and about two million elderly Kenyans aged over 60 years, according to national statistics records.
Tabu assured Kenyans that the country is prepared to undertake the exercise in its 10,000 health facilities.
However, he did not say which or when the proposed vaccine will reach the country, largely indicating that this will depend on the COVAX Facility.
But without mentioning brands, he indicated that the ministry’s preference is for vaccines which do not require extremely cold storage conditions.
Health facilities
Kenya, he explained has the capacity to store vaccines at -20 degrees Celsius at county level health facilities and at two to eight degrees Celsius at lower level facilities.
These he said consists of about 10,000 health facilities though it has not been decided whether to use the hospital networks or an outreach programme.
At the national level he said there is limited capacity that can store vaccines at extreme temperatures.
“Our preference, however, is to acquire vaccines we are able to handle within the countrywide cold chain storage capacity,” said Tabu.
This effectively rules out the leading candidates – the Pfizer vaccine, which should be stored at -70 degrees Celsius and to some extent the Moderna vaccine storable at -20 degrees Celsius.