By Arnold Neliba
NYERI, MARCH 5, 2021 (CISA)-Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri has supported the vaccination program to be launched today Friday March 5.
“The Holy Father Pope Francis is the head of the Church and he has spoken very clearly regarding the vaccines. The vaccines are licit to receive and they need to go through the normal tests of any vaccines and the Ministry of Health is supposed to do that,” the Archbishop told the press on March 4 when he joined guests at the official opening of the ICT and Library Complex at Mukurwe-ini Technical Training Institute.
Archbishop Muheria said the Church is, “…in favour of the vaccine…we want to fight Covid-19 and it is licit and ethical to receive those vaccines.”
The Kenya Catholic Doctors Association through its Chairperson Dr Stephen Karanja had on the same day, March 4, issued an advisory warning Kenyans against participating in the vaccination exercise, alleging that all the Covid-19 vaccines are experimental and can only reduce risks of severe disease and deaths, but will not stop infection or transmission of the disease.
“It will be very strange for anybody to agree to be given a vaccine that is being tested. What if it injures you seriously? Why not wait? Where it has come from Covid-19 has killed more people like in Europe and America,” Dr Karanja said suggesting that the vaccines would have been tested in the countries of origin for at least one year before making the decision to acquire them.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday March 4 flagged the countrywide distribution of the one million vaccine doses which arrived on March 2. The vaccination campaign has been launched today, March 5 at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Acting Director General of Health Dr. Patrick Amoth is the first Kenyan to receive the jab followed by Kenyatta National Hospitals Chief Executive Officer Dr. Evanson Kamuri.
