CNN International Correspondent Larry Madowo has shared a heartbreaking story of how he lost three relatives in recent months while his grandmother is very ill.
In a story the journalist penned for CNN on Wednesday, July 21, Madowo noted that his heart sinks every time he gets a call from a relative saying that he usually anticipates bad news.
He disclosed that his uncle named Justus died in June due to lack of adequate Covid-19 vaccines. He was the third in their family to succumb.
His grandmother who is aged 96 years has been on a ventilator for four weeks.
"I had just finished filming at a crammed ICU treating critical Covid-19 patients in Uganda's capital of Kampala last month when I learned that my uncle Justus had himself died of the virus across the border in Kenya. I was heartbroken and angry.
"Justus was buried within 48 hours as the Kenyan government requires. He was the third family member who had died in the pandemic that I didn't get a chance to mourn properly or see laid to rest," stated Madowo.
He blamed the increased fatality rate on vaccine hoarding by developed countries including the US.
He claims that he was able to get a vaccine from a drug store in US for himself but his granny, more than 60 years his senior, had to wait for a long time to receive the jab.
"Every time I see a call from home, my heart sinks. I always fear that they're ringing to say that my grandmother has died. She has been on a ventilator for four weeks and my anxiety is near breaking point.
"Even at 96, my Kenyan grandmother was among hundreds of millions in the developing world who was not vaccinated until recently because rich nations have hoarded most of the available shots. Though I'm more than 60 years younger than her, I was fully inoculated by April because I was living in the United States, where anybody over 12 can get a vaccine if they want one," added Madowo.
Nearly 200 million people have received the Covid-19 jab in the United States. 161 million have been fully vaccinated with 338 million doses administered.
That represents 49.2% of the US population.
In Kenya, on the other hand, only 1.04 million people have received the first dosage against a population of over 50 million people.
Out of the total figure, only 595,124 have received a second dosage according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health.
