A whopping 10 million Kenyans eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine have not taken the jab and are not showing any interest in getting it. This is a sorry state considering 323,319 Kenyans have contracted the disease with 5,647 succumbing to the virus since the first case was reported in March 2020. Globally, more than 474 million people have been infected and more than 6.1 million dying.

The grim statistics should move any one to seeking ways to keep the virus at bay. The contrary scenario is playing out. Vaccines the government procured are expiring at medical stores. Already, 840,000 doses of AstraZeneca jab have gone bad.

The reasons given for the lack of motivation vary. Some feel the pandemic is over and they managed to get through it unscathed; others feel their immunity systems are strong enough to withstand the virus; the other lot is simply relying on rumours and misinformation that the vaccine will have worse effects on their bodies than the virus. Surely, what worse effect can the vaccine have than death?

The expiry of the doses has pushed the government to make several declarations, among them: That they will only receive vaccines with a shelf life of more than four months. That counties must use all the vaccines available without prejudice to certain brands and that it will undertake civic education to get more Kenyans to accept the injection. These are noble initiatives that should have been deployed when the campaign started.

The government, like many Kenyans, took its foot off the pedal. The result is wastage of epic proportions. Even after the Covid-19 protocols were eased there was need to keep the populace wary of the virus.  In China, there has been a resurgence of the virus and in some regions lockdowns have been imposed. Here at home the flu season is setting in and with it a rise in Covid-19 cases is likely to follow.

There is every reason for those not vaccinated to get jabbed. Let’s stop pulling in opposite directions. We urge Kenyans to prioritise prevention. This can only be done through getting the vaccines. We urge the government to do all in its powers to get more and more people vaccinated. The cost of procuring and administering the injections is too high to let them waste away. The effect of the disease is too grim for the country to pretend it no longer exists.