On the midnight of 2nd March 2021, 1.02 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Facilitated by UNICEF, the vaccine doses arrived on Qatar Airways flight QR1341 and received by top government officials led by Health CS Mutahi Kagwe and UNICEF reps in Kenya
Interesting facts about AstraZeneca vaccine
- AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine is easier to produce, store and goes for $3 (Ksh.329) per dose
- Kenyan government is buying a dose at $7 (Sh768) per dose
- Kenya ordered 24 million doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, which can only be used on 20 per cent of the country’s population.
- Worldwide, Astra Zeneca has been confirmed to be effective and safe and effective at preventing Covid-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations, more than 22 days after the first dose.
- The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is based on the virus’s genetic instructions for building the spike protein. But unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the Oxford vaccine uses double-stranded DNA.
- The vaccine doesn’t have to stay frozen. The vaccine is expected to last for at least six months when refrigerated at 38–46°F (2–8°C).
- AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses, given four weeks apart, to prime the immune system to fight off the coronavirus.
- The vaccine is approved for people who are 18 years of age and older. Its safety and effectiveness in people younger than 18 years of age have not yet been established.
- Viral vector-based vaccines use a harmless virus, such as an adenovirus, as a delivery system. This “vector” virus is not the virus that causes COVID-19. Adenoviruses are among the viruses that can cause the common cold. There are many different types of adenoviruses, and many have been used as delivery systems for other vector-based vaccines for decades.
- The side effects that followed vaccine administration in clinical trials were mild or moderate. They included things like pain at the site of injection, body chills, feeling tired and feeling feverish.
