The National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary, Ukur Yatani has assured Kenyans that the government has made adequate budgetary provisions to facilitate the purchase of additional coronavirus vaccines.
Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee of Health, C.S. Yatani said the government has allocated at least Ksh.7 billion to procure COVID-19 vaccines between now and the close of June, 2021.
His remarks come days after his health counterpart; Mutahi Kagwe said Kenya expects to receive an additional 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility before the end of May.
Kagwe said the shipment will enable individuals who got the first AstraZeneca dose to receive their booster dose within the first week of June.
The government is also in talks with the African Union (AU) with a view to procuring 7 million doses of Pfizer and 10 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines to vaccinate an additional 13.5 million Kenyans.
COVID-19 infections
So far, 887,034 Kenyans have already received the jab out of 1.25 million doses that were shipped into the country.
However, COVID-19 positivity rate on Monday stood at 8.3percent after 137 people tested positive from a sample size of 1,641 tested.
This brings confirmed positive cases in the country to 160,559 with cumulative tests so far conducted standing at 1,681,420, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said in a statement on Monday.