Seal all loopholes to curb theft of Covid-19 vaccines

Kenya received 880,460 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the U.S on August 23, 2021, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).[Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

The main reason the government was initially hesitant to allow private entities to import and distribute the much-needed Covid-19 vaccines was to minimise the possibility of the process being abused and lives being put at risk.

It was feared that rogue businesspeople would infiltrate this life-saving mission to make profits at the expense of human life by, for instance, selling the vaccines at exorbitant prices, way out of the reach of the majority poor. There were also fears that some rogues would take advantage of the initiative to import substandard vaccines or to inject people with other liquids other than vaccines in order to make a killing.