COVID vaccine will cost Sh327 per dose to the Kenyans

"we could easily enter into a bilateral partnership with AstraZeneca to get more doses as this vaccine was very promising because it shows protection against all age groups and could also stop transmission of the virus."

The COVID-19 vaccine which is being developed by the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford jointly may cost Sh327 per dose to the Kenyans, according to a report by Daily Nation.

The results of the first phase trials announced earlier on Monday, proved that the vaccine can be used by over 30 percent of the people to protect from the spread of the deadly virus. The Kenya vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is also being examined in Kilifi County by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri). The trails results were conducted in Brazil and the United Kingdom, as per the reports.

In the joint trial of Kmeri and the University of Oxford, around 40 frontline healthcare workers from Kilifi were involved, whereas the authorities are reportedly targeting 360 volunteers for the second phase which will run for two months.

In a statement made on Monday, the biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca said, "clinical trials are also being conducted in Kenya, the US, Japan, Russia, South Africa, and Latin America, with planned trials in other European and Asian countries. In total, we expect to enroll up to 60,000 participants globally".

Talking about the evaluations of the available vaccines by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna, Mutahi Kagwe, the Health Minister of Kenya said that the authorities aren't committed to take any vaccine yet. He said, "we will explore all option".

However, Patrick Amoth, Health Director-General in a report said, "we could easily enter into a bilateral partnership with Astra Zeneca to get more doses as this vaccine was very promising because it shows protection against all age groups and could also stop transmission of the virus."

After the logistical inconvenience in the handling of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the news for reaching AstraZeneca is sound for the country.

Hereafter, AstraZeneca also said on Monday that it agrees to sell the vaccine to the developing nations in continuity.