NAIROBI: Kenya will start administering the second dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the first week of June, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Friday.
This followed the country's revision of the duration between the first and the second does from eight weeks to 12 weeks in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation late in April, the Xinhua news agency reported.
"The ministry has revised the interval period for the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 12 weeks. This means the country would begin administering the second dose of the vaccine in June, " said the ministry amid a shortage of the jabs in Kenya following the crisis in India.
Kenya commenced inoculation against the coronavirus in early March, soon after the country received 1.02 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses that were manufactured in India under the COVAX facility.
The ministry assured the public that efforts to acquire the Covid-19 vaccines are underway to ensure as many as eligible people are fully immunized in the shortest time possible, and that the entire adult population will be vaccinated by June 2022.
"To secure the second dose of the vaccine as fast as possible, the government is working with the COVAX facility, which is a program that ensures low and middle income countries access Covid-19 vaccines, " said the ministry.
The ministry ruled out mixing of Covid-19 vaccines even when jabs from other manufacturers become available in the country.
Data from the health ministry showed that as of Friday, Kenya had vaccinated 934, 436 people against the coronavirus including 284, 411 elderly citizens aged 58 years and above, 162, 396 healthcare workers, 146, 538 teachers, 79, 906 security officers and 261, 185 general population.
Kenya has confirmed 165, 112 Covid-19 cases, 113, 432 recoveries and 2, 976 fatalities as of Friday.