This archive report was first published on 5 November 2021.
As the country grapples with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a worrying trend has emerged: most severely ill patients in hospitals across Kenya are unvaccinated.
According to the Ministry of Health, out of over 500 cases admitted to hospitals, more than 400 were unvaccinated. The critically ill patients, almost all of them, have not been vaccinated against the virus.
The Ministry has set up a monitoring and evaluation team, working with epidemiologists from the University of Nairobi, to track the vaccination status of patients admitted to hospitals. This team will create a national database of Covid-19 hospital admissions, including those who are vaccinated and those who are yet to receive the jab.
"When we get to know the status of the patients being admitted, whether they are vaccinated or not, you will be able to tell the trend of the virus," said Dr. Willis Akhwale, the chairman of the National Covid-19 vaccine deployment task force.
Dr. Akhwale emphasized that if more vaccinated people were being admitted, it would be a cause for concern, as it would indicate the presence of a new variant.
"It pains me that some Kenyans have just decided not to have the vaccine, they are taking chances and when trouble hits, they rush to the hospital. This virus is not a joke, look at the matter as life and death," Dr. Akhwale said.
Recent data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports the importance of vaccination. The CDC study found that unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with severe Covid-19 disease.
Prof. Omu Anzala, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Nairobi, noted that vaccine hesitancy is becoming a significant issue in Kenya. He emphasized the need for a promotive and preventive approach to encourage people to get vaccinated.
Prof. Matilu Mwau, an infectious disease researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, stressed the importance of vaccination in preventing the spread of the virus. He noted that even if vaccinated people can still transmit the virus, vaccination is crucial in preventing severe illness and death.
Kenya has received approximately nine million doses of various vaccines, with 5.3 million doses administered. However, the uptake of the second dose among those who received their first dose stands at 43 per cent, and only 5.7 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.
The government aims to vaccinate 10 million Kenyans by December, but the current pace of vaccination may make this target unachievable.
