Help at hand

Chinese donation reinvigorates Kenya’s vaccination drive

NAIROBI — Kenya on Saturday received supplies of a Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine as the East African nation ramps up vaccinations among those most at risk from the virus.

Kenyan officials said the donated doses of the vaccine from Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm will reinvigorate the country’s pandemic fight.

“The vaccines we are receiving today are testament to the cordial relations that exist between our two countries and extend beyond healthcare to include trade and other sectors of development,” said Susan Mochache, principal secretary of the Ministry of Health.

Mochache was among the Kenyan officials who were at the main airport of the capital Nairobi for the handover of the vaccine doses.

Kenya’s medicine regulatory agency has approved the Sinopharm vaccine along with those developed by Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Mochache said the arrival of the Sinopharm vaccine marks a milestone in Kenya’s quest to contain the pandemic and hasten a return to normal life for its people.

The two-dose vaccine, which can be stored at temperatures from 2 C to 8 C, is ideal for Kenya’s cold-chain capacity, Mochache said.

Zhang Yijun, the minister counselor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya, said the vaccine donation reaffirms the vitality of bilateral cooperation between Nairobi and Beijing.

The doses that have arrived, and those to come, “are a testament of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between our two countries and the profound traditional friendship between our two peoples,” said Zhang.

China has also donated ventilators, face masks and personal protective equipment to Kenya.

Confidence expressed

Kenyan health experts had earlier expressed confidence in the Sinopharm vaccine, saying that its widespread use will help suppress the coronavirus, relieve pressure on the public health system and boost the country’s economic recovery.

Willis Akhwale, chair of the COVID-19 vaccine task force in the Ministry of Health, said the approval of the Sinopharm vaccine by his country’s medicine regulatory agency was a vote of confidence in its efficacy.

Elsewhere, Sri Lankan authorities on Saturday received 4 million doses of the Sinopharm jab shipped from China. The doses arrived at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport.

The Chinese embassy in Colombo said the consignment was the final batch of doses provided under a contract signed by Sri Lankan authorities. In all, 26 million Sinopharm doses have arrived in the country.

Also on Saturday, Bangladesh received 5 million more Sinopharm doses. Bangladesh’s vaccination drive is running smoothly in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere thanks to China’s vaccine support.