The ongoing accelerated Covid-19 vaccination drive received a boost following the arrival of a further 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine into the country.
The consignment, arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on from Rwanda facilitated by Clinton Health Access Initiative, through the COVAX facility.
Speaking while receiving the consignment, National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Taskforce chairperson Willis Akhwale said the doses will go a long way in supporting the government in its endeavor to vaccinate its eligible population.
“One year ago, the challenge was availability. Today, we are in different circumstances with enough Vaccines on the continent to share with our brothers and sisters” he said.
Rwandese Ambassador to Kenya Richard Masozera said the fight against the pandemic will be won through international unity and solidarity.
“We have cooperated with Kenya for many years, and we are happy that we can work together to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Other countries that have donated Covid-19 vaccines to the country include Denmark, United Kingdom, France, India, China, Greece, USA, Canada, Slovakia, Netherlands, Germany and Argentina.
The arrival of the consignment brought the number of vaccine doses received in the country to slightly over 27 million.
Kenya has administered close to 17 million Covid-19 vaccine doses since its kicked off the vaccination exercise of its adult population in March 2021 and vaccination of its teenage population with Pfizer in November, 2021.
The country plans to fully vaccinate 19 million adults (70% of the adult population) by end of June 2022 and the entire adult population of 27 million people by the end of the year.
During the same period, it will also aim to fully vaccinate 2.9 million teenagers aged 15-17 years (50% of the population) and the entire teenage population of 5.8million by end of December 2022. BY THE STAR