Kenyans who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will get the eagerly awaited second jab of the AstraZeneca dose starting this week.
The Ministry of Health says it plans to launch the second dose COVID-19 vaccination exercise on Friday, May 28.
However, due to a shortage of doses, the Ministry will prioritize frontline workers as the country seeks to progressively acquire more vaccines for the general public.
On Tuesday, Kenya’s vaccine taskforce chair, Dr Willis Akhwale, said the country is set to receive a consignment of 72,000 AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses by Thursday, May 27.
“I finished doing the paperwork this evening … everything is set. The batch of 72,000 AstraZeneca doses will be here tomorrow or by Thursday,” said Dr Akhwale.
South Sudan donated the doses through the Covax facility after concluding it cannot administer the jabs before they expire.
The donated doses coupled with at least 100,000 doses that remained from 1.12 million initial doses means just 172,000 doses will be available for the second vaccination drive.
The doses will serve frontline workers who got their jab in March and who will have completed their 12-week gap.
