Kenya receives 1.4M more COVID-19 vaccine doses, total hits 14M

This is after the health Ministry received an additional 1,462,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday to bolster vaccination efforts. 

"The shipment was a donation from development partners with Denmark donating 266,400, Belgium 445,300 while 750,7000 doses were received from Netherlands," a statement by the MoH on Wednesday said. 

The latest consignment brought the number of doses received in the country to 14,120,000," 

The latest comes just hours after President Uhuru Kenyatta urged mass vaccination in Kenya to beat the disease and focus on economic recovery. 

"This new variant's profile, for now, remains unknown. It is, therefore, better  to err on the side of caution. By receiving our vaccinations, we will have played our part in securing not only our own lives but also protecting the lives of those around us. let us be responsible in this endeavor." Said President Kenyatta while delivering the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Tuesday.

The Head of State said Kenya was on course to hit its10-million vaccines administered by end of December. 

He rallied Kenyans to take their jabs, smash and surpass the target by Christmas, espcially amid the growing global concern over the Omicron COVID-19 variant. 

"We have a much smaller target to meet within the next 25 days. I call on all Kenyans to rally under the call of 25 days to Christmas to secure their vaccinations to meet and surpass the target we set," said the President.

Kenya which administers not less than 100,000 vaccines in a day has so far vaccinated 7.1 million adults. 

The country has a goal of vaccinating at least 27 million adults by the end of 2022. 

The Omicron coronavirus variant, said to be more virulent and infectious has been reported in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong. 

The new variant whose data remains scanty is  likely to spread internationally and poses a very high risk of infection surges that could have "severe consequences" in some places, according to a statement from the World Health Organization on Monday.