The Russian Embassy in Kenya has thrown the public in confusion over the ‘highly-effective’ Sputnik V vaccine.
In a statement dated March 29, Moscow said there was no agreement between the government of Kenya and Russia for the importation of the Sputnik V vaccine.
The Putin-led federation said the importation of the Sputnik Vaccine in kenya was by a private entity.
This importation paves way for Kenya’s first commercially administered COVID-19 vaccine.
Approving the vaccine last week, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) granted Emergency Use Approval to a private pharmacy in Kenya.
However, Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi, put a warning to individuals willing to take up the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine.
She argued the vaccine did not met all the necessary regulatory approvals for use in the country.
“A technical agreement stipulating the responsibilities of all the parties involved in the distribution is yet to be submitted to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board. What this means is that the vaccine has therefore not received all the necessary regulatory approvals for use in the country,” she said.
However, amid the confusion, high ranking individuals in the country have already started taking the vaccine.
One would have to part with Ksh. 11,000 for the two doses, administered 21 days apart.
Sputnik-V has boasted an incredible 93% efficacy rate, but still yet to be approved by the World Health Organization.
WHO argues that the vaccine manufacturers have not shared their data on crucial trials required inorder to prove their success was indeed valid.
The vaccines currently approved for use by the WHO are; Pfizer and Moderna at 95 per cent, Novovax (90 per cent), Sinopharm (79 per cent), AstraZeneca (76 per cent) and Johnson and Johnson (72 per cent).
