Kenya receives 141,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenya has received the Johnson and Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine which landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport late Friday.

The Health Ministry Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi, who received the shipment on behalf of Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe, told reporters that Kenyans should come out in large numbers to get vaccinated.

The arrival “will boost the ongoing vaccination drive that targets 10 million adult Kenyans by the end of the year,” said Mwangangi.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is the third in Kenya’s vaccination program with AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines already being administered.

The Health Ministry pointed out that more than 100,000 Kenyans who were to get second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had not shown up despite being called by the ministry through text messages.

“We now have enough stops within the country so that there should be no hesitancy when it comes to coming to get your second dose of AstraZeneca,” said Mwangangi.

The arrival of the 141,000 one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine comes on a day that Kenya recorded 1,001 new cases of the virus from a sample size of 9,065.

Confirmed cases in Kenya are now 238,852 and cumulative tests conducted stand at 2,397,923.

Eleven patients died of COVID-19 on Friday bringing total fatalities to 4757.