Kenya’s vaccine rollout was a disaster, how do we pick up?

Members of the public queue outside Mbagathi Hospital to be vaccinated. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

The Covid-19 vaccine roll-out has so far been a disaster and betrays the excellent framework adopted in the Health Ministry National Plan. How is it possible that such an important exercise has flopped in the first few weeks despite comparative international experiences and a five-month lead time to this moment? What do we need to put in place to recover the moment and proceed effectively?

Two weeks ago, this column profiled the National Distribution Plan. I made a public case for an orderly public health-led approach to universal vaccination targeting the most vulnerable first. The last fourteen days have been an example of how not to implement a national plan by citizens, state and corporate agencies.

The three-phased approach of frontline health-workers, police-officers and other state officers, those with pre-existing conditions and the elderly and then those in poor and informal settlements lies in tatters. Parliamentarians, captains of business and other members of the one per cent gleefully getting jabs flood social media.