Kenya received more than 1 million Covid-19 vaccines as part of the global COVAX program, according to a press release from the country’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
A plane carrying 1.02 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine landed just before midnight on Tuesday at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
It is part of an initial allocation for Kenya of 3.5 million doses, according to the joint statement by the Kenya Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
According to the Ministry of Health, the first beneficiaries of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will include frontline workers, such as health professionals, teachers and security personnel.
The COVAX program, jointly led by WHO in conjunction with nonprofit health organizations, it aims to supply vaccines to developing countries in the first 100 days of 2021 and distribute at least 2 billion doses by the end of the year.
“We know that this pandemic will not end in one country until it ends in all countries,” said Thabani Maphosa, Gavi Country Program Manager for Country Programs, the Vaccine Alliance.
“The arrival of the first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to Kenya represents the beginning of the equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide. These first doses are for the vaccination of frontline health professionals, which are essential for Covid-19’s response and the maintenance of all health services. “
In addition to vaccines, UNICEF is providing syringes and safety boxes to Kenya, through a global stockpile financed and supported by Gavi.