President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, March 5, responded to Kenyans who were piling pressure on him and his cabinet to be the first to take the vaccine.
Speaking after inspecting the Central Vaccine Depot in Kitengela, the Head of State said that he would take the Covid-19 vaccination jab after consultating his doctors.
"I will, of course, take the jab when my doctors say so, and at my own wish, and not under pressure from anybody," the president declared.
In addition, he stated that experts would advise on whether leaders would be among the first to get the vaccine or not.
"This is the time to come together to be able to give much-needed service, but we don't have to dwell on insinuations on who should be vaccinated first.
"We have met as a Cabinet and we have made it very clear that the policy of my administration is that the first persons to be administered with this vaccine are the frontline workers," he continued.
Kenyatta assured that the jab had passed all the necessary tests and had the blessings of medical experts.
He added that facts, statistics and updates about the vaccination should only come from the Ministry of Health.
A section of Kenyans who were suspicious about taking the vaccine had advocated politicians and those in authority to be the first to get the jab, after which they would follow suit.
The president, however, warned that the arrival of the vaccines should not be a license to do away with the Covid-19 precautions.
“We still have to wear masks, wash hands, and social distance because the disease is still with us,” he said. “I know we are tired because this pandemic has inconvenienced our livelihoods, but while we can recover from this, we cannot get back lost lives.”
Some of the other African presidents were among the first to take the vaccine for example; president's Wavel Ramkalawan (Seychelles), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Macky Sall (Senegal), Nana Akufo Addo (Ghana) and Morocco King Mahammed VI.
