Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has expressed confidence in Ministry of Health’s (MOH) capacity to inoculate the population and safely store the Covid-19 vaccine.
Speaking during the flag off of the countrywide distribution of Covid-19 vaccine, CS Kagwe assured Kenyans that “nothing has been left to chance.”
“Over the last decade, the government has scaled up coverage of immunisation services from 50 per cent to more than 90 per cent of health facilities through procurement and installation of specialised vaccine storage equipment in over 5,000 health facilities,” said the CS.
The CS boasted about the country having a national and eight regional ultramodern vaccine depots which will be critical in handling the vaccines. The CS stated that the main vaccine depot is fitted with both external digital temperature displays and remote temperature monitoring devices that are web-based, SMS enabled and allow staff to visualize the conditions in real-time and from any location in the country.
Out of the many vaccines currently used on Covid-19, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has proven to be the easiest to be stored and transported. It can be stored for up to six months under temperatures ranging between 2.2 and 7.7 degrees Celsius.
According to CS Kagwe, Kenya’s vaccine storage facilities have the capacity to store six-month worth of vaccine stock at one time and house more than enough freezer rooms.
“It can store 130,000 litres under (2-8 degrees Celsius) and a negative capacity storage of 14,400 litres in -20 degrees Celsius,” said CS kagwe.
Vaccination is expected to start on Friday at Kenyatta National hospital as the CS encourages other referral hospitals to be prompt in following suit. First in line will be health workers and others providing essential services.
“I take this opportunity to encourage all our healthcare workers to get vaccinated. You are our first line of defence and your protection is paramount to us,” beseeched CS Kagwe.
Covid-19 update
Kenya has recorded 528 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, shooting the national tally of positive cases to 107,329. The numbers come from a sample size of 6,291 bringing the total number of tests conducted to 1,317,617.
From the cases 483 are Kenyans while 45 are foreigners.
The CS also stated that 330 of the people who have tested positive are male while 198 are female. The youngest among them is a two-month-old infant while the oldest is 89.
Fortunately, 185 patients have recovered from the disease, 83 from the Home-Based Care Program, while 102 have been discharged from various hospitals. This increases the cumulative recoveries to 87,099.
“Sadly, 4 patients have succumbed to the virus bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 1,870,” said the Health CS.
There are 435 patients admitted in various health facilities countrywide and 1,583 are on Home Based Isolation and Care.
65 patients are in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 24 of whom are on ventilatory support, and 34 on supplemental oxygen. seven patients are under observation.
Another 16 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen all of whom are in the general wards.
Distribution
Nairobi continues recording the highest cases in all counties. The capital city has recorded Nairobi 363, Kiambu 41, Mombasa 17, Nakuru 16, Machakos 13, Busia 13, Uasin Gishu 12, Kajiado 8, Nyandarua 8, Kisumu 7, Kilifi 5, Tharaka Nithi 5, Laikipia 4, Taita Taveta 3, Kakamega 3, Makueni 2, Nyeri 2, Siaya 2, Turkana 1, Kwale 1, Baringo 1 and Meru 1.
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