Covid-19 Vaccine Doses Depleted As Most Teachers Yet To Be Vaccinated
Following the depletion of the COVID-19 vaccine, there have been concerns that the country may have to suspend the ongoing vaccination process.
The second batch under the COVAX facility was expected this month but following India’s ban of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the ongoing vaccination is set to be affected immensely.
At the moment, less than 267,200 COVID -19 doses are remaining in all the depots in various regions.
However, officials from the government under the head of COVID-19 vaccination, Willis Akhwale, are positive that the second consignment of 1.5 million does shall arrive at the end of May 2021.
63.049 teachers have been vaccinated with a total of 455,826 Kenyans vaccinated so far. Of these vaccinated Kenyans, 455,299 received the AstraZeneca vaccine while 527 received the Russian Sputnik vaccine.
Among the vaccinated individuals, Nairobi is leading with 32.4% of vaccinations. This totals 32.4% of vaccinations. This turns out a tune of 147,521 Kenyans vaccinated in Nairobi.
Nyeri has 14,687 people vaccinated, Nakuru has 27,103, Uasin Gishu with 22,841 while Kisumu has 19,423 vaccinated.
Marsabit, Tana River, and Kwale counties are the ones with the least number of individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 with each recording 414,516 and 1,045 respectively.
The vaccinated individuals require a second dose of the vaccine as per the procedure but this may not happen after the ban of the AstraZeneca vaccine in India.
The CDC is already seeking an alternative to the COVID-19 vaccines after the ban affected the member counties.
The Serum Institute of India encountered issues with supplying the vaccine and this could affect the targets of the African Union and Africa CDC’s target of vaccinating 60% of the population which could be up to 750 million people. This has placed a very high global demand on the vaccine.
“The target was 90 million by April. So far 36 million people have been vaccinated. We still have a lot of effort and intervention to put in place,” said Dr. Ahmed Ogwel, Deputy Director Africa CDC.
Most countries in the continent (Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria among them) have received their first doses with most of them being the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX facility.
The second and any other consignments of the vaccines is not yet clear and this has led to a shift in focus to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The CDC signed a deal last week with the intention of securing up to 400 million doses even with additional supplies from Johnson & Johnson.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an addition to the AstraZeneca supply from the Serum Institute of India to Africa via the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) released data that shows the number of teachers whom COVID-19 has affected since the government closed schools and all other learning institutions in March to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
According to the data, that TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia released to the media shows that 36 teachers have succumbed to the novel coronavirus disease.
345 confirmed cases have been confirmed among teachers in the country. 209 of these have since recovered from COVID-19, while 9 are still in the hospital.
The Commission further revealed that now 92 teachers are under a home-based care program. In terms of gender, 186 are female teachers. While 159 of the cases are male.
After schools reopened throughout the country on January 4, 2020, TSC expressed concerns regarding the safety of teachers and learners in schools. Dr. Nancy Macharia described teachers as being the super-spreaders of the virus during this period.
According to information provided by TSC, 337, 432 teachers in the country are currently serving 30,000 public primary and post-primary schools.
Dr. Nancy Macharia assured that the commission will work with all the relevant authorities to ensure that teachers and learners are safe as the country is fighting the global pandemic.
“The commission’s field officers are also working with stakeholders in the health sector to provide psycho-social support to all teachers who might need the service,” stated the TSC Boss.
The TSC CEO advised teachers who are of age 58 years and above to set MoH guidelines and then work from home. She assured me that the commission would not sack any teachers who are working with the current conditions.
Over 25,000 teachers currently employed by TSC are 58 years and above.
Teachers are among those classified as front-line workers and are set to receive the COVID-19 vaccine expected in the country by February this year. Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangani revealed earlier other professionals like health workers and police officers shall be prioritized, as well as older citizens who are 58 years and above.
“When the vaccine shall arrive, which is projected to be available around the end of February, teachers will be among the first beneficiaries because they are now frontline workers,” said Dr. Mwangangi on Thursday.
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