President Uhuru directs entire cabinet to get Covid-19 vaccine

His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the entire Cabinet and Executive Office to get the Covid-19 vaccine as the government scales up the roll out exercise.

State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita made the announcement today as he received the jab.

“As the Government scales up the roll out of the national COVID-19 Vaccine program , H.E the President has directed his entire Cabinet & Executive Office to lead by example & get the jab! Received mine this morning under the watchful guidance of the Ministry of Health vaccination team,” said Waita in a tweet.

This comes after the Ministry of Health yesterday announced that persons aged 58 years and above will be prioritised in the ongoing vaccination.

In a press statement issued by Dr. Willis Akhwale, the chairperson of the Covid-19 vaccine deployment taskforce, people aged 58 and above are at most risk of severe disease and account for 60 per cent of the recorded deaths.

“The country is now experiencing the 3rd wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with increasing number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. In view of this surge of the pandemic, and in order to protect and save lives, the Ministry of Health has decided to immediately prioritize vaccinations of persons aged 58 years and above,” reads the statement.

The ministry further urged all political, religious and community leaders to take the vaccine so as to boost confidence in the overall vaccination process.

The first phase of the vaccination exercise is targeting 1.25 million frontline workers at a risk of infection.

So far, Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma, Public Affairs and Gender CS Margaret Kobia as well as Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi have taken the jab.