The Ministry of Health has declared that no private entity will be involved in the Phase 1 procurement of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.
The Health Cabinet Secretary said in submissions to the Senate Standing Committee on Health that the private sector will only be allowed to join the roll-out plan of vaccines in July this year, after the government has set up what it calls a “transparent and accountable system that will ensure Public Health Safety at all times.”
“No private entity will be involved in the Government procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. Our plan is to procure these vaccines through 3 mechanisms; The COVAX Facility, through which we currently are getting the AstraZeneca vaccine; The AFRICA CDC Platform and Directly from manufacturers through bilateral agreements,” he said.
Despite the approval and licenced for distribution of the Sputnik V vaccine by the Pharmacy and Poison Board the Ministry of Health maintains that the vaccine was being “irregularly deployed” and was therefore forced to ban it’s roll out in the country.
“The National Emergency Response Committee (NERC) deliberated on the role of the private sector in the importation, distribution and administration of Covid-19 vaccines, as explained by the chair of the Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Taskforce, following reports of irregular deployment of one of the vaccines(Sputnik V), and noted that gains made in the fight against the pandemic may be reversed by the introduction of counterfeit vaccines into the Kenyan market, putting the country at further risk of Covid-19 spread, increased morbidity and mortality,” added the CS.
By the end of the week the Ministry is targeting to have vaccinated over 400,000 people and by May 5th they can start to receive their second doses.