The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
Kenya has recorded 153 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the national tally to 101,009.
There were no deaths reported today, but fatalities continue to stand at 1,766.
The positive cases were from a sample size of 3,922, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said in a statement to newsrooms on Tuesday.
The cumulative tests done so far stand at 1,192,605.
Kenya's recoveries now stand at 83,990 after 54 patients recovered from Covid.
These included 123 Kenyans and 30 foreigners and 91 men and 62 women.
The youngest was a one-year-old and the oldest aged 80.
Nairobi continued to lead with the new cases, reporting 93, followed by Mombasa’s 13, eight in Kiambu, six in Nakuru, Turkana’s five, and three in Kajiado, among others.
According to Kagwe, 471 patients are admitted in hospitals across the country as 1,471 patients are in the home-based care programme. Some 27 patients are in ICU while 12 are on ventilators.
The Ministry of Health has announced that Covid-19 vaccinations will be rolled out in three phases.
The first phase will be rolled out from mid-February to June and will target 1.25 million Kenyans.
It will cover frontline healthcare workers, non-medical staff in health facilities, and other essential service providers such as security personnel and immigration officers.
The second phase is intended to begin in July this year and run to June next year. It is expected to cover 9.7 million people by targeting citizens aged over 50 years and anyone above 18 years with underlying health conditions.
Health Cabinet Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi said the third phase will target 4.9 million people.
"Phase three could run concurrently with phase two depending on availability of adequate vaccines... Our target will include vulnerable populations like those in congested settings.”
To ensure the whole process runs smoothly, the Health Ministry has established a task force, chaired by Dr Willis Akhalwe, to ensure the expedited introduction and deployment of the vaccines.
Mwangangi said Kenya is a member of the Covax facility through which procurement of the vaccines will be done.
Sixty-nine countries are included in the Covax arrangement and are guaranteed to get two billion doses.
"Kenya will receive 24 million doses from Covax and procure other 11 million doses through other mechanisms to vaccinate nearly 16 million people, which is 30 per cent of the population, over a period of 18 months.
"The vaccines are expected to be AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and any other that will be included in the Covax facility," she said.
The CAS said that efforts are being made to procure vaccines through other mechanisms like the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to cover an additional five million people in the same period and achieve a vaccination coverage of 40 per cent.
The ministry also intends to build the capacity of more than 23,000 healthcare workers, including health volunteers.
Mwangangi dismissed concerns that Kenya lacks the necessary infrastructure to store the vaccines.
join