Friday, December 25, 2020 – Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, has announced free Covid-19 vaccines for Kenyans when they arrive in the country.
Kagwe made the announcement in an interview, adding that the Covid-19 vaccine will be incorporated into the country’s national immunization programme that is offered for free to all citizens.
Officials from the Ministry of Health revealed that Kenya has submitted an application to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) for permission to introduce the Covid-19 jab into the country.
The free vaccines are expected to cover 20 percent of the country’s population with Kenya ordering 24 Million doses from the Gavi Covax Facility.
The Ministry of Health has also set aside Ksh10 Billion to procure more vaccines to cater for an additional 10 percent of the population during the first half of 2021.
The jab costs vary depending on the vaccine manufacturer with the prices ranging from Ksh 335 to Ksh 4,127, the Moderna two-dose vaccine costs Ksh 5,577 per patient for the two doses.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines which are also administered in two doses will cost Ksh 4,335 per patient with one dose costing Ksh 2,175.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is the cheapest so far, ranging between Ksh 335 to Ksh 446 with Johnson & Johnson’s two-dose vaccine costing an estimated Ksh 1,115 and the Novavax going for Ksh 1,785.
Health acting Direct General Patrick Amoth revealed the government has settled on a hybrid system of using two types of Covid-19 vaccines.
“We are currently looking at various vaccines with different costs.”
“Although we have not yet decided on the exact one, we are likely to use a hybrid,” Amoth revealed.
Teachers, health workers and police officers will be among the first group of Kenyans to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
E! News Blog
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