Governors from the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) are now requesting that the national government allow them to import COVID-19 vaccines immediately, just days after the government placed stringent restrictions following an outbreak of the disease.
Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o noted at a press conference on Tuesday that vaccination is critical in arresting the high number of cases in the region and preventing the virus from spreading further.
“This is something that we are going to propose to the Ministry of Health and if they are agreeable, we will go ahead,” he stated, “If We are allowed to import vaccines in partnership with our development partners, we are willing to do so.”
He pointed out that the Health Ministry’s 3 million vaccines were insufficient to speed up vaccination across the country.
Kenya began the vaccination campaign in March with 1.02 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine obtained through the covax facility.
It got 360,000 doses of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine from Denmark on Monday, signifying a significant increase in the immunization effort that began in February.
