Editorials

Bar profiteers from jab

COUNTY-VACCINE

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe (centre) briefs media on the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine to counties outside the offices of the Council of Governors on March 10, 2021. NMG PHOTO

It is good news that the government is firing on all cylinders to ensure that the Covid-19 vaccine is available to people who can pay through the private channels.

According to the Health Cabinet Secretary, private firms will start importation in July.

We urge the ministry and other stakeholders to ensure that this goal comes to pass since the pandemic has shown that without movement, the economy literally drops to its knees.

So, if there is a way of reducing the Covid-19 pain that has seen people take to the streets, pushing the State to ease the lockdown protocols, the authorities should make it a top priority.

Making the vaccine imports a priority means the government monitoring the licensing of firms or hospitals shipping in the vaccines. It is indeed a matter of life and death to monitor the pipeline so that the vaccine will reach people at the right time and cost.

Let this plan not cause a new round of endless controversies as importers exploit the gaps to bring in fake jabs or make a killing when the world is sagging under the weight of this plague.

Kenya must say no to profiteering, which, going by the past cases, is likely to hit the country hard.