Editor's Review

CS Duale urged parents across the country to take their children to health facilities for vaccination.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has flagged off 3 million doses of BCG and 3.2 million doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to counties after days of shortage across the country.

CS Duale flagged the 6.2 million BCG and Polio doses on Thursday, June 12, morning at Afya House in Nairobi.

“Health Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale today flagged off 3 million doses of BCG (used to prevent tuberculosis) and 3.2 million doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) at Afya House, Nairobi, marking a major boost to Kenya’s national immunization programme,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Speaking during the flag-off, Duale called on all county governments to prioritize the collection of the vaccines from regional depots and ensure timely distribution to health facilities, particularly in remote and underserved areas.

The Health CS also acknowledged immunization partners, including UNICEF, for their rapid procurement and delivery of the vaccines.

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File image of Health CS Aden Duale. 

Further, CS Duale urged parents across the country to visit local health facilities to have their children vaccinated.

“Parents and Caregivers across the country are encouraged to visit local health facilities to have their children vaccinated and catch up on any missed doses,” Duale added.

The vaccines arrived in the country on Wednesday, June 11 night and were received by Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

On June 6, PS Oluga announced that 12 out of the 47 counties had completely run out of vaccines.

Oluga attributed the challenges being experienced to global bottlenecks that were making it difficult for countries to access the commodities.

"The Ministry is actively redistributing available vaccine stocks in collaboration with County Governments to ensure equitable access to all Kenyans in all regions. We appreciate the ongoing cooperation of County Governments and healthcare facilities in managing this situation," the PS wrote.

He added, "The low vaccine stock levels have resulted from a combination of factors and mainly the Global vaccine supply bottlenecks, which continue to impact several countries."