Covid-19 Vaccines and global access (COVAX) uptake sensitization programme aiming at informing the public on the importance of being vaccinated against Covid 19 has kicked off in two sub-counties of Bomet County.
Stakeholders and the COVAX have been concerned with the situation in the county and they have geared up for a sensitization programme aiming to reach at least 200, 000 to 233, 000 people with vaccination messages and at least 70,020 with the vaccine.
The program which is being carried out by Kenya Red Cross in conjunction with other stakeholders has been put in place to fight vaccine hesitancy in the region and targets Sotik and Bomet central sub-counties.
Bomet lags in position 28 out of the 47 counties and 16.5 per cent of the population in the region has been inoculated which is below the nation’s average grid stand.
Micah Koech the Ag. Director of Public Health and sanitation raised his concerns that the reluctance and hesitancy and low uptake of the Covid-19 jab might be as a result of a lack of adequate information on the same.
“There has been vaccine hesitancy and low uptake of the same in the county due to inadequate communication, lack of proper sensitization and awareness of the vaccines itself, which need to be addressed,” explained Koech.
The Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Kenya Red Cross Society has engaged more than 100 community health volunteers (CHVs) from the two selected Sotik and Bomet Central sub counties where the project is taking place.
This, Koech said, was aimed at increasing the number of the residents who were hesitant to take the vaccine in those regions.
According to Dr Ronald Kibet the population are skeptical about the safety of the vaccines and urged the public to receptive to the vaccine for their own good. “Even if you had contracted the disease and tested negative, you should get vaccinated since the vaccines were safe,” said Dr Kibet.
By Lamech Willy
