The first batch of Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Lands in Kenya
Kenya received the first batch of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine on Friday, purchased by the government to boost inoculation efforts.
Gathogo Wanjiru 
The consignment of 141,000 doses of the vaccines touched down aboard a Lufthansa Flight some minutes before 9 p.m.
Speaking to the media from the JKIA on Friday while receiving the batch, Health Ministry CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangangi said the delivery marks a milestone in the country.
The batch was from 13.3 million doses that Kenya has procured through the Africa Vaccines Acquisition Trust that was set up in November 2020.
Although the government maintains that all the vaccines are equally effective, priority will be given to Johnson and Johnson which is easier to store and requires less logistical and operational costs.
Dr. Mwangangi urged Kenyans to get vaccinated, especially with the government’s plan to vaccinate at least 10 million adults by December.
“All the vaccines are effective, there is none that is superior, we urge Kenyans to go get vaccinated, getting a vaccine will save you from ending up in an ICU bed,” Dr. Mwangangi said on Friday.
The country aims to receive at least 1 million doses of the J&J vaccine every month. Plans to increase vaccination posts in the country to 3,000 are underway.
Some 242,000 doses of the same vaccine are expected in the country next week according to the Health Ministry.
Head of vaccine task force Dr. Willis Akwale said Kenya is now administering 78,000 doses a day and plans to push it to 80,000 vaccines a day by end of September.
“We distributed Moderna early this week, you might notice that it is slow because we are training medics on how to vaccinate with Moderna, Dr. Akhwale said.
Kenya had fully vaccinated 2.97 percent of its adult population in the country as of September 3.
