Kenya will set up a “fill and finish” vaccine plant where the last process of filling vials and packaging them for distribution will be done to increase supply in the country.
President Uhuru Kenyatta says this will reduce the level of dependency that Kenya has on getting vaccines from donors.
“It is now clear that we cannot exclusively depend on foreign partners and their system to resolve our health crisis,” he said.
The government also plans to build a human vaccine centre that will not only focus on manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines but other vaccines.
“In that regard, we must substantially prepare ourselves before the next crisis knocks on our doors,” he said.
Kenya has been reporting an increase in coronavirus cases and a night curfew has been extended for another 60 days.
The country expects to receive its first consignment of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in August to help accelerate the country’s vaccination drive.
Out of a population of 47 million people, only one million people have had their first jab. Another 300,000 people are fully vaccinated.
