Kenya has received more than 1 million Covid-19 vaccines as part of the global COVAX program, according to a press release from the country’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
A plane with 1.02 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Tuesday just before midnight.
It is part of an initial allocation to Kenya of 3.5 million doses, according to a joint statement from the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
According to the Department of Health, front-line workers, such as health care professionals, teachers and security personnel, will be the prime beneficiaries of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
The COVAX program, Under the leadership of the WHO, together with nonprofit health care organizations, it aims to deliver vaccines to developing countries in the first 100 days of 2021 and deploy at least 2 billion doses by the end of the year.
“We know that this pandemic will not end in one country until it ends in all countries,” said Thabani Maphosa, director of country programs at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
“The first arrivals of doses of Covid-19 vaccines in Kenya are the start of fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world. These first doses are for the vaccination of primary health care workers critical to the response to Covid-19 and the maintenance of all health services. “
In addition to the vaccines, UNICEF is supplying syringes and lockers to Kenya through a global supply funded and supported by Gavi.