Firm seeks a go-ahead to export the suspended Sputnik V vaccine
The company that imported the suspended Sputnik V vaccine has asked the government to allow it ship the drug to Lebanon or Pakistan.
The decision to ban the importation, distribution and use of the Sputnik V vaccine led to controversy in the country with the Ministry of health shifting goal posts repeatedly, at first acknowledging presence of the vaccine and later denying knowledge of how the vaccine came to be in the country.
Speaking while appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman said private entities will only be allowed to import Covid-19 vaccines once the Government has set up a transparent system to ensure public health safety.
Aman said that they received reports that the accredited distributors engaged in marketing of the vaccine contrary to the guidelines of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and that the jab was administered in facilities without accreditation including peoples homes.
“The committee received reports that the appointed distributors were engaged in marketing of the vaccine in contravention of the guidelines issued by the Pharmacy and poisons board,” Aman said on yesterday.
The members of the committee however declined to admit a statement which CS Mutahi Kagwe failed to append his signature to, with CAS Aman signing on his behalf.
The MoH insists importation of the vaccines will be the prerogative of the government, at least in the foreseeable future.
“The committee noted that the gains made in the fight against the pandemic will be lost in the event that counterfeit vaccines gain entrance into Kenya,” Aman added.
The ban on importation came days after the Pharmacy and Poisons Board had given Russian Sputnik V vaccine a clean bill of health.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, about 400,000 people in Kenya have received the AstraZeneca vaccine from the one million doses imported last month with a further 25 million doses expected in the Country soon.
