#SouthAfrica on Sunday suspended the use of the #OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that the drug is not effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country.
I spoke to @mosmasika to understand if the new data posed any risk for Kenya which is heavily relying on the #OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine.
He told me: "We should not stop our plans for vaccination just because South Africa has paused #AZ.
We should appreciate that the two countries are experiencing a somewhat different trajectory in terms of numbers and most likely circulating variants."
We should appreciate that the two countries are experiencing a somewhat different trajectory in terms of numbers and most likely circulating variants."
But @mosmasika's concern "is that we have not characterised the strains circulating locally very well. The number we have sequenced so far is very small, about 500 out of more than 100,000 cases. We should sequence more genomes to know which strains are here and whether
any of them poses a problem,” said Dr @mosmasika, adding that for now, “I would not strike it [the vaccine] out of the list for Kenya yet, since we do not have any evidence to support such a decision."
He also told me: "We should not stop our plans for vaccination just because South Africa has paused #AZ.
We should appreciate that the two countries are experiencing a somewhat different trajectory in terms of numbers and most likely circulating variants."
We should appreciate that the two countries are experiencing a somewhat different trajectory in terms of numbers and most likely circulating variants."
Unlike #SA which has chosen to proceed with @JNJAfrica & #PfizerBioNtech vaccines, #KE has limited options in terms of choice of what to deploy.
It's only last week that my colleague @LeonLidigu reported that China’s @ChinaSinopharm had expressed interests to supply its vax
READ MORE HERE @NationAfrica
nation.africa/kenya/news/chi…
READ MORE HERE @NationAfrica
nation.africa/kenya/news/chi…
3 cases of the #501YV2 variant have been recorded here w/the latest being a #Trucker detected in Lunga Lunga in #Kwale after sequencing of 60 samples according to @MOH_Kenya.
Acting DG @DrPatrickAmoth said the results of contacts of the said driver have since turned NEGATIVE.
Acting DG @DrPatrickAmoth said the results of contacts of the said driver have since turned NEGATIVE.
Today @DrPatrickAmoth directed counties with Ports of Entry to heighten their surveillance; Asks them to also reactivate their Rapid Response Teams (RRTs). This is a day after 4 #British troops at the #Nanyuki base tested positive for #COVID19 weeks after arriving from #UK.
@KEMRI_Kenya last month had plans to sequence 400 samples between Jan and Feb in multiple sites across the country to ascertain the extent of the spread of new variants in #UK, #SA & #D80A identified in Taita. Results of this data are yet to be announced.
In light of recent news about #AZ @CEPIvaccines released a statement saying – in the context of viral settings without this variant – that the vaccine offers protection against severe disease, hospitalisation, and death.
"This means it is vitally important now to determine the vaccine’s effectiveness when it comes to preventing more severe illness caused by the B.1.351 variant," @CEPIvaccines's said.
#WashYourHands #WearAMask
#WashYourHands #WearAMask
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