Photo courtesy of the health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Dr. Mercy Mwangangi.
Bad news as Over 800,000 AstraZeneca vaccines have expired, according to the Ministry of Health's, CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, who was speaking about the status of Covid 19 in the country (Kenya).
The counties of Nakuru, Busia, and Kajiado have the most expired vaccines, as the country's vaccination rate has dropped from an average of 52,000 per day to around 30, 000.
"So far, only 270, 000 people have shown up to receive booster doses." "We continue to see vaccine hesitancy as a result of fertility rumors and other misinformation," Dr. Mwangangi said.
"If Kenyans do not show up and get vaccinated within the next three weeks," she continued, "another 1 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines will expire."
COVAX delivered the expired AstraZeneca to the country in January of this year. According to Dr. Mwangangi, Kenyans prefer a specific type of vaccine that is about to be phased out by AstraZeneca.
"Some people demanded specific types of vaccines, and when AstraZeneca offered them, they declined," she explained.
To ensure that the 1 million J&J does not go to waste, the ministry has implemented measures such as conducting campaigns, outreaches, and timely redistribution of doses from low-consumption counties to high-consumption counties. To avoid vaccine expiration, the CAS stated that the country will not accept vaccines with a shelf life of less than four months.
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