The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has named 55 locations where COVID-19 vaccinations will be hosted for private-sector employees, their families, and communities.
The first phase of the private sector led vaccination efforts will be administered with the help of seven hospitals approved by the Ministry of Health. The seven are Avenue Hospital, Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, Meridian Hospital, MP Shah Hospital, Metropolitan Hospital, Karen Hospital and Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
According to KEPSA, the vaccinations will take place on different days starting September 13th, through to October 8th, 2021. Those interested in being vaccinated are reminded that they will be required to follow the assigned date schedules and that no money should be paid before receiving the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson jab.
Speaking on the new development, Carole Kariuki, KEPSA CEO said, “All persons being vaccinated must bring their National ID or Passport to the vaccination venues. A second registration may be required by some hospitals through their tracking portals, and we urge all our members to ensure their staff and dependents register using the online links that have been provided in addition to the official Ministry of Health portal before going for vaccination.”
An anticipated 60,407 doses are expected to be administered at designated business premises of KEPSA member organizations. Grouped per hospital for efficient logistics, some of the 263 participating KEPSA member organizations who will host the vaccinations over the next four weeks include, I&M Bank, Simba Corporation, Ushuru Pension, Deloitte, CarePay and ICEA Lion.
Other participating host organizations are Osho Chemicals, M-Gas, Twiga chemicals, Twiga Foods, EABL, BAT Kenya, NCBA Bank, Absa Bank, Ecobank, Sameer Africa, KCB Bank, NBK, Cooperative Bank, Ernst & Young, Kenya Aeroclub, 4G Capital, L’Oréal, PKF Foundation and Dalberg Research.
“This entire initiative will help accelerate the pace of vaccinations and to get us closer to herd immunity as we strive to rebuild back better. At KEPSA we shall be hosting 15 member companies where we hope to administer 1300 doses on 15th and 16th September,” added Ms. Kariuki, noting that phase two of the process expected to commence in early October will focus on the counties across the country.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, KEPSA has been working with the government and other partners to cushion Kenyans and SMEs against the adverse effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the MOU, for every employee and family members vaccinated, the participating companies will commit to meeting the costs of vaccinating up to five additional persons in the community. This is in the spirit of inclusivity in combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, general health, and social wellbeing of Kenyans.
All vaccine procurement, storage and distribution are being handled by the Ministry of Health while the administration is being done in partnership with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. This is in line with the National COVID-19 Vaccination guidelines.