Details have emerged of a crisis meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, April 12.
A report by People Daily on Wednesday, April 14, indicated that the meeting was aimed at addressing the deteriorating Covid-19 situation and looming shortage of Astrazeneca vaccine.
It is believed that the available 1.02 million doses that were imported in March will run out of stock in a period of between 10 and 14 days.
“We are working around the clock to find a solution. The stock we have at the moment can only last about 10 days, by which time the first batch of persons who received the jab would be due for their second injection.
“We will have the second doses that people need within the 12-week window instead of the eight weeks we had set. This means we are still within the timelines set by WHO (World Health Organisation)," stated Willis Akhwale, the chairman of the task force of Covid-19 Deployment and Vaccination.
The attendees of the meeting also observed that individuals who had already taken the first jab of the vaccine would have to wait longer than expected for the second jab.
This is after India, the country considered the largest producer of the vaccine, temporarily halted exports after it recorded a spike in infections.
“The President ordered us to ensure that the country receives its next batch of vaccines as soon as possible. What I can tell you is that we are racing against time to actualise the directive,” stated one of the officials who attended the meeting.
The move disrupted the country's plan to have 3.2 million jabs as of June 2021.
Those who had taken their first jab in March and early April were expected to get a second one in early May but they may be forced to wait till the end of the month.
It is reported that since India's suspension, Kenya is actively seeking for funds to import the vaccine from several other sources including US, Netherlands and Belgium.
The other option the country was looking into was the purchase of a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson which has suffered a setback after it was suspended by the United States.
The meeting came in the backdrop of an uproar over the decision by the state to halt the importation of Sputnik V Vaccine by private firms.
Health CAS Rashid Aman explained that the ban was effected to alleviate fears that fake vaccines would be imported by the firms.
He further noted that private players would only be allowed to import vaccines in July after a transparent and accountable system has been set up.
People expressed their anger at the ban after India approved its administration barely two weeks after it was banned in the country.
