840,000 Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccines have Expired - Ministry of Health

Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi has announced that 840,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have expired.

Addressing the press on Wednesday, March 23, Dr. Mwangangi expressed concerns over the slow uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in Kenya. 

"Preliminary reports indicate that close to 840,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses have expired. Every county has some expiries with the highest being Nakuru at 35,000, followed by Busia 27,980. The lifting of some mandates led to complacency among us causing the loss of these doses," Dr. Mwangangi stated. 

She urged Counties to use any means possible to encourage Kenyans to take up the vaccines. 

"We call on county governments to do all they can to ensure that all vaccines in their facilities are administered. MoH is working with county government & partners to do everything possible to ensure that the vaccine doses are utilized before expiry," she added. 

This comes days after the Ministry of Health announced a relaxation of the COVID-19 containment measures following relatively fewer cases as well as positivity rates over the past couple of months.

“There has been a lot of debate and discussions on the continued use of face masks as one of the containment measures. The mandatory wearing of face masks in open, public spaces is now lifted. 

“Nonetheless, people are advised to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding in public spaces to ensure risk of spread is limited. We, however, encourage the use of face masks in all indoor functions," CS Mutahi Kagwe said.