Health workers denounce lack of inclusivity and poor messaging by MoH

Health worker representative groups have today expressed full support for the vaccine rollout by the government but at the same time denounced lack of inclusivity and poor messaging on the part of Ministry of Health (MoH).

Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Health chaired by Senator Ledama Olekina, health associations and unions linked the aforementioned reasons to the vaccine hesitancy being experienced among their professionals and the general population.

“The roll out was not done in consultation with the health care workers, so one of the major issues we are dealing with is vaccine hesitancy and more so because there has been inadequate information about the vaccine,” noted Chibanzi Mwachonda, Acting Secretary General, Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU).

The General Secretary at Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), Seth Panyako said that nurses have not been sensitized on matters to do with the vaccine.

“We are the vaccinators…patients will ask pertinent questions as we carry out the vaccination exercises. Questions such as: should I continue wearing a mask, what are the side effects? These have not been answered,” Seth explained.

According to a survey on Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptability conducted by the Kenya Progressive Nurses Association, 80 percent of nurses say they shall not get vaccinated; with 59 percent of them raising safety concerns.

The Senate Committee gave assurances that it shall coordinate a meeting between MoH, Council of Governors and the health professional bodies for consensus building. It further noted that vaccination is an important step toward attaining herd immunity across the population and restrict the virus’ ability to mutate to new variants.