Aga Khan Hospital resumes Covid-19 vaccination
The Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi has resumed its vaccination using the government-sponsored Covid-19 vaccine after receiving more doses from the Ministry of Health.
The hospital had announced on Tuesday that it had suspended the vaccination exercise following a shortage of jabs.
On Wednesday evening, the hospital announced the resumption of the programme after the health ministry stepped in with more AstraZeneca vaccine doses.
“We have resumed the Covid-19 vaccination exercise after receiving more doses from the Ministry of Health,” the hospital said.
As of Wednesday, 161,771 people had been vaccinated against Covid-19, against an available 1.12 million doses, according to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.
The hospital is issuing the vaccine under the government’s guidelines, including free vaccination to eligible priority groups.
The priority groups include healthcare workers, teachers, security agencies, clergy, and persons over the age of 58.
Those wishing to receive the jab from the hospital are supposed to register at the Aga Khan Primary school by 6am.
People who will be turning up for the exercise have been asked to carry their National ID, staff ID, or a letter from their company.
According to Dr Willis Akhwale, the head of the national Covid-19 vaccine deployment, Kenya decided to use all its 1.12 million vials to administer the first dose to as many people as possible.
The country will then move to give the second dose as soon as it receives its next shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca in early April.
The move, he said, is in line with Kenya’s vaccination plan where people are expected to receive two shots of the vaccine eight weeks apart.
“We are not worried about any delays since we are in the process of expanding our procurement options through other mechanisms like the Africa CDC. We are also looking into having bilateral agreements,” Dr Akhwale said.