The United States Donates First Tranche of COVID-19 Vaccines to Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 23- The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has announced the donation of 880,460 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Kenya.

An additional U.S. donation of 880,320 doses of the Moderna vaccine are scheduled to arrive in September, the US Embassy in Nairobi said.

In a statement, the Embassy said the donated vaccines are part of the United States’ efforts to combat COVID-19 around the globe committing over half a billion doses world-wide.

The vaccine doses arrived in Kenya via Gavi/COVAX on August 23, 2021, greeted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by representatives from the United States Embassy, the Kenyan Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.

As COVID-19 rates are currently increasing in Africa, and Kenya is currently in its fourth wave, the Embassy said United States is closely coordinating with the African Union and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to provide critical vaccine doses through Gavi/COVAX.

As President Joe Biden said, “From the beginning of my presidency, we have been clear-eyed that we need to attack this virus globally.  This is about our responsibility — our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can — and our responsibility to our values. We’re going to help lead the world out of this pandemic, working alongside our global partners.”

This vaccine donation is in addition to the more than 7.6 billion shillings ($70 million) already committed by the United States to support Kenya’s COVID-19 response through laboratory testing, supplies and equipment, training healthcare workers and other frontline responders, public health messaging, and research.

This funding has also been used to address the secondary impacts of COVID-19 by addressing gaps in the education, employment, and food security sectors.

“This donation builds on the United States partnership with the Government of Kenya in response to COVID-19. These life-saving vaccines will fill an important need at a critical time in Kenya’s fight against this pandemic” said U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Eric Kneedler.