Govt targets ten million people in 10-day Covid vaccination drive

The government has launched a Covid-19 mass vaccination campaign targeting at least 10 million people in ten days.

Chiefs and their Assistants will be at the center of the drive that is hoping to raise the number of the vaccinated in the country to at least 25 million.

A higher uptake will raise the ideal herd immunity and put a further distance between the country and the possibility of another lockdown or isolation in global travel forced by the virus and its variants.

Interior Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Fred Matiang’i, directed County Commissioners and Chiefs to exploit their vast grassroots network and sensitize the public on the benefits of the vaccine.

“All our administrators have been given a target. We must reach out to wananchi through structured engagement and help the Ministry of Health administer at least a million doses per day.”

“Our officers right from the County Commissioners up to the Assistant Chiefs are under instructions to deploy the power of persuasion and explain to the people why these vaccines are important under the prevailing circumstances,” he said.

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe appealed to Kenyans to take the vaccines as a civic responsibility saying senior State officials had led by example.

“Our president was the first person to receive the vaccine. We, the Cabinet Secretaries and other government officials, have been immunized. You have the responsibility to protect yourself and the people around you through the power of enlightened self-interest.

The Ministry of Health launched the vaccination drive in March 2021 with 1,120,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility.

So far, 5,370,210 people have been fully vaccinated, while 6,434,138 have received the first dose.

Meanwhile, 137,031 booster doses have been administered, and the country’s average adult vaccination rate currently stands at 19.7 percent.

Nairobi County accounts for the largest share of the vaccinated with 39.2 percent of the city residents fully vaccinated, while Tana River County has only managed 4.7 percent of its residents, the lease for any county.

As at January 28, 2022, 24,648,720 vaccines were lying in stock. The drive launched today will boost the government’s efforts to cover the rest of the population.

The vaccine rollout strategy varies from one country to another.  Last year, Kenya prioritized vaccinating specific vulnerable groups, but the focus now shifts to vaccinating as many people as possible as quickly as possible.