Kenya has officially entered the third wave of the COVID 19 pandemic.
This comes as 713 people have tested positive for the disease from 5,230 samples tested in the last 24 hours. According to CS KAgwe, this is the highest number recorded in a day since late last year. Meanwhile, the country’s positivity rate has also shot up to 14%
However the country’s recovery rate has remained at over 80%, with 167 patients recovering from the disease since yesterday, raising total recoveries in Kenya to 87,903. The death toll from the disease has however increased sharply after 12 more people succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours.
Speaking after a meeting with the Council of Governors, CS Kagwe said Kenya has deployed the vaccines in the counties and intends to vaccinate 15 Million people by June 2023 in three phases, with more vaccine support expected to be received from GAVI, the vaccine alliance. for 30% of the population
“ I am delighted to report that a number of Counties have already commenced the vaccination of our health workers, who are our frontline soldiers in this war,” CS Kagwe said.
“A National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Taskforce was formed to advise and guide on COVID-19 Vaccine’s roll-out, and is undertaking the tasks that include, regulation and safety monitoring, Costing, Financing and Resourcing, Planning and coordination, Procurement and logistics, ” he added.
Meanwhile, the Health CS has assured that the Pharmacy and Poisons’ board will ensure any COVID 19 vaccines that come into the country are registered and approved, and will also monitor the current vaccines rollout to ensure any corrective measures are taken promptly
“The vaccines that we received are the astrazeneca whose efficacy & safety have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health recommends approval by a stringent regulatory authority and registration by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for any vaccines that come into the country.”, CS Kagwe said.
Almost 4,000 Kenyans have so far been vaccinated against COVID 19, a week after Kenya got its first batch of the vaccines.
And,ahead of the Friday address by President Uhuru Kenyatta on the possible lifting of restrictions imposed in the country due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Health CS said there is need to take stock of the measures taken to determine the mandatory requirements for the country going forward. Kagwe said the high numbers being recorded since the third wave begun are a concern.
The Council of Governors led by Chairman Governor Martin Wambora has urged the president to ban all political gatherings due to the upsurge in the number of COVID 19 cases in the country. Wambora said the governors are working with the ministry of health to re-look the existing COVID 19 protocols with a view to contain the current wave.