The Ministry of Health is working on a list to determine which groups will get the Covid-19 vaccine first and who will be last.
The queue for the vaccine is now slowly forming, with indications it might stretch to 2022 or 2023.
However, the general consensus is that healthcare workers should be first, followed by elderly people.
The recently-formed National Covid-19 Vaccine Task Force is working on a system to guide distribution, once any vaccine reaches Kenya.
Supplies will be limited at first and the ministry is expected to follow the World Health Organization’s guidance to vaccinate people.
“We will probably focus on healthcare workers and other employees working in hospitals first, then old people,” a member of the task force told the Star.
Last week, Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache confirmed the country is working on a distribution plan.
“We are on the right path in drawing up a roadmap for the administration of the vaccine once it is launched,” she said in Nyamira during World Aids Day.
Kenya is expected to receive a vaccine early next year to cover about 20 per cent of the population, through the Gavi-led Covax Facility, which will buy doses for developing countries.
Experts say although there won’t be enough vaccines for everyone, getting the shots to the right people could change the course of the pandemic in Kenya.
In September, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization endorsed new guidelines on which groups to prioritise for vaccination while supply is limited.
The framework advises countries to prioritise health workers who are directly engaged in the Covid-19 response.
The framework also leaves countries to make their own decisions depending on the type of vaccines that are available and what countries intend to achieve.
“Health is not, however, the only dimension of wellbeing that has been severely affected by the pandemic,” the report says.
This means the choice for Kenya might also depend on whether the highest priority for the country is just to prevent death or to curb the spread of the virus and return to normalcy.
If the country also prioritises a return to normalcy, those who receive the first jabs might also include healthy non-medical people such as teachers, workers in hospitality industry, matatu drivers and touts among others.
“School closures have not only resulted in significant setbacks in learning for over 1.5 billion young people worldwide they have also undermined their socio-emotional development, and in many cases their physical health and safety,” WHO said.
Ninety-two developing countries, including Kenya, will receive vaccines through Covax early next year, according to Gavi CEO Seth Berkely.
Covax has signed agreements for nine different candidates, but the Oxford candidate might reach developing countries first because it can utilise existing infrastructure.
“Access to safe and efficacious Covid-19 vaccines for the most vulnera ble groups everywhere in the world is the only way to bring the acute stage of this pandemic under control,” Dr Berkley said in a statement recently.