Could corona vaccine be the silver bullet in the fight against COVID?
On march 2nd Kenya received 1.02 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines were transported by UNICEF as part of the COVAX facility, which aims to provide equitable access to vaccines for all countries around the world.
The arrival of the vaccines is a huge step in the fight against corona virus .
Kenya has set out an elaborate vaccine roll out plan. The ministry of health jas set aside around 400,000 doses for health care workers who will be given top priority followed by the elderly and the immunocompromised.
The biggest challenge for Kenya and Africa in general is to get enough doses. Kenya for example has a population of over 50 million people and 1 million doses is barely enough.
The government will also have to overcome widespread misconceptions and disinformation about the vaccines. It has been faced by alot of scandals including the Jack Ma donations and should practice transparency and accountability in order to inspire public confidence because vaccination is voluntary.
Getting the vaccine is just a small step, the biggest challenge will be the equitable distribution of covid vaccine.
Kenya recorded its first case of coronavirus in 12/3/2020.
So far in Kenya, more than 100,000 people have contracted the virus, more than 80000 recovered and at least 1,000 have died.
The country has a fatality rate of 1.74%.
