Forget the myths and take Covid-19 vaccine, Kilifi residents urged

Kilifi county leaders have urged residents to reject myths associated with the Covid-19 vaccine and take the jab, which is now available in most public hospitals.

Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and her Magarini counterpart Michael Kingi said the pandemic is wiping out people because of their failure to observe Health ministry protocols.

Some myths that have hurt the vaccine uptake include, that it affects fertility, causes bloodclots and may hurt the foetus if administered to a pregnant woman. The World Health Organisation has rubbished the myths, stating that the vaccine is safe.

Jumwa said, “Take personal responsibility to sanitise and maintain physical distance. The pandemic is real, especially the Delta variant.”

This comes as an outreach programme targetting to increase the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country has started.

The National Multi-Agency Command Centre (NMACC) on Covid-19, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), started the two-day Covid-19 vaccination outreach programme yesterday at six centres in Embakasi South.

The centres are Taj Mall bus stage, Jacaranda Grounds, Kariobangi Market, Holy Ghost Church Dandora Phase 3, PCEA Church and Kings Celebration Soweto Gospel Church.

Chairperson of the vaccine task force Willis Akhwale, while receiving 180,000 doses of the AstraZeneca from Greece on Friday, said the government targets to vaccinate 10 million people by the end of the year. 

On August 7, some 1,205 people tested positive for the coronavirus, from a 8,158 sample size.

The Covid-19 positivity rate stood at 14.8 per cent, with 211, 028 confirmed cases and 2,184,276 tests conducted since the onset of the disease.

The Health Ministry, in a brief on Saturday, also said some 1,242 patients have recovered from the disease, with 1,069 being from the Home Based Isolation and Care while 173 are from various health facilities across the country.

The total recoveries now stand at 197, 029.

Another 29 patients have succumbed to the coronavirus, all being late deaths reported after conducting facility audits from April to August, pushing fatalities to 4,117.

“1,650 patients are currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 7,771 are under the Home-Based Isolation and Care. One hundred and nine patients are in the ICU, forty-six of whom are on ventilator support and fifty-six on supplemental oxygen. Seven patients are under observation,” the Ministry added.

As of August 7, 2021, Kenya has administered 1,793,520 vaccines, and only 2.6 per cent of the adult population is fully vaccinated.