Investigations
Covid-19 Vaccine: Ministry yet to receive official procurement papers

The Ministry of Health still has scanty information about the real cost of Covid AstraZeneca vaccine that arrived on Tuesday night will. Officials from the ministry have refuted looting claims adding that the cost can’t be as high as Sh760 ($7).
They stated that the $7 was only a ‘working figure’ after was met mixed reactions since Kenyans the vaccine to cost $3 (Sh330) capped by Covax.
Chairman of the Covid-19 Taskforce for vaccine deployment Mr. Willis Akhwale said the estimate was arrived at in January when the government was still unsure about the cost.
“ The Covax estimates for most vaccines were between $6 to $8 and so we pegged our working figure at an average of $7,” Akhwale said.
Health Ministry has always hinted that it would pay $7 per dose even after AstraZeneca capped its shots to $3 (Sh330) per dose since their aim is to reach a wider population but not to make profits.
But the treasury allocated $4.1 million for the cheaper Astrazeneca vaccine which was procured by Unicef and delivered to Nairobi on Tuesday. It is from their documents that Akhwale is hoping to confirm what he calls the final cost of the vaccine.
“They will share with us their procurement documents showing the costs incurred, after which we will pay. So even now we do not know how much it will cost per dose. But we expect the cost to significantly go down,” he said.
Unicef also clarified that all developing countries are paying $3 per dose under the Covax facility but it is still unclear if the cost includes freight.
The vaccines arrived on board a Qatar Airways Boeing Dreamliner at 11.23 pm on Tuesday night via Qatar Airways flight QR1341 and was recieved by senior officials including Health CS Mutahi Kagwe, Unicef representative Maniza Zaman and Dr Rudi Eggers of the World Health Organization.
After the reception at the JKIA, the delicate cargo was then moved under a tight escort to a storage facility in Kitengela.
Kenya Insights allows guest blogging, if you want to be published on Kenya’s most authoritative and accurate blog, have an expose, news TIPS, story angles, human interest stories, drop us an email on [email protected] or via Telegram
-
Investigations2 weeks ago
A Pattern Emerges: How Somali-Led Cartels Are Fueling Kenya’s Real Estate Boom With American Fraud Money
-
News4 days ago
Former Nairobi CEC Newton Munene Found Dead as Sonko Alleges Cartel Involvement
-
Business2 weeks ago
Lea Maize Flour Producer Admits to Adding Chemicals to Make Ugali ‘Balloon’ as Experts Issue Warnings
-
News2 weeks ago
US Charges Kenyan with Stealing Sh83 Billion from USAID-Funded Project at KEMSA
-
Investigations1 week ago
Financial Watchdog Flags Sh600 Million Sham SHA Payments
-
News2 weeks ago
Gachagua, Woman Face Eviction Over Unpaid Sh25 Million Nairobi Apartment
-
Grapevine2 weeks ago
Governor Mutula Kilonzo Embroiled in Dramatic Fallout With Baby Mama
-
Grapevine1 week ago
Robert Burale’s Ex-Wife Spills All The Tea – “I Found Gay Porn on His Laptop, Another Woman Paid For Our Honeymoon!