The Ministry of Health has finalised plans to commence vaccination of at least 800,000 students who took the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, ahead of their prospective admission into universities and colleges next month.
Susan Mochache, Principal Secretary Ministry of Health, urged prospective students to ensure they take the Covid-19 vaccine before moving to the next level of their education.
According to Mochache, the decision is triggered by the need to prevent the spread of the virus in institutions of learning.
“We are keen to reach the more than 800,000 young people who completed their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) Examination in April 2022 and have now joined the community as they wait to get admitted to various institutions of higher learning.
“As most of them will start joining various colleges from July 2022, we appeal to all their parents and guardians to encourage the young adults to be vaccinated before they join their next level of education,” the principal secretary said.
She further revealed that the ministry targets to vaccinate as many of the adult population as possible, and about 50 percent of the teenage population in Kenya.
The PS added that if the set target is met, Kenya will be safe from the worrisome rise in cases of infected persons, however, only 8.4 million adult Kenyans have been vaccinated with over 26 million yet to be vaccinated, despite the availability and accessibility of vaccines.
She revealed that moving forward, the vaccination will target the teenage population, especially secondary school students between age 15-17 before they move to higher institutions.
