AstraZeneca jabs cheapest in Kenya’s vaccination drive
A health worker fills a syringe with a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine against Covid-19 at the Mbagathi hospital vaccination centre in Nairobi on July 13, 2021. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA | AFP
Kenya has targeted to vaccine the entire adult population by end of next year, banking on a mix of internal funding and loans to procure doses for the inoculation exercise.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that countries should vaccinate at least 70 percent of their population, to allow full re-opening of economies.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows that Kenya had administered 6,494, 091 doses with 2,460,280 fully vaccinated and 4,033, 811 partially inoculated by Tuesday.
AstraZeneca is the cheapest vaccine to inoculate at least 70 percent of Kenya’s population against the Covid-19 disease, with a bill of about Sh45 billion, an economic think tank has said.
The Institute of Economy Affairs (IEA) said this is the least budget compared to Johnson & Johnson vaccine that would cost Sh77 billion, Pfizer (Sh139 billion) and Moderna (Sh189 billion) for the same population size. A mix of all the vaccines would cost Sh96 billion for the same population size.
Kenya has targeted to vaccine the entire adult population by end of next year, banking on a mix of internal funding and loans to procure doses for the inoculation exercise.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that countries should vaccinate at least 70 percent of their population, to allow full re-opening of economies.
“Where the government commits to vaccinate population to achieve herd immunity, that is at least 70 percent of the population, it will cost Sh48 billion,” said the IEA.
Kenya is administering AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as it races against time to inoculate 10 million people by the end of this year.
Budgetary constraints remain the biggest hurdle to the inoculation exercise, with international funders delaying cash meant to fund the programme.
Last month, the Treasury told the National Assembly that World Bank had delayed the release of a Sh14.4 billion loan to help Kenya buy Covid-19 vaccines.
The World Bank said it would release the billions of shillings to the Treasury once Kenya meets certain undisclosed conditions.
The lender’s financing will help Kenya buy vaccines through an African Union facility set up for that purpose, as well as COVAX, the global scheme for sharing vaccines equitably.
Kenya has allocated Sh15 billion for purchasing and administering Covid-19 vaccines in the year to June.
Kenya is also relying on vaccine donations from countries to boost the availability of doses, amid a low number of people who have been fully and partially vaccinated.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows that Kenya had administered 6,494, 091 doses with 2,460,280 fully vaccinated and 4,033, 811 partially inoculated by Tuesday.
Kenya is racing against time to increase the number of those fully vaccinated given that it has relaxed restrictions on social gatherings and movement in a bid to jumpstart the economy.
The State says that Kenyans without proof of vaccination against Covid-19 will be locked out of government services under rules that seek to boost uptake of the jabs and bring the pandemic under control.
