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"id": 1083900,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1083900/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Khaniri",
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"speaker": {
"id": 171,
"legal_name": "George Munyasa Khaniri",
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"content": "I thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order 47 (1), I rise to make a Statement on an issue of general topical concern, that is, the third wave of the COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine. It has been 15 months since Kenya recorded its first COVID-19 case in March of 2020. The country has had more than 184,537 confirmed positive cases, more than 126,594 people have recovered, and nearly 3,640 people have succumbed to the virus. At the start of this pandemic, the President, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, put out strict regulations and protocols that positively curbed the spread of the virus. Political gatherings were banned, major parts of the country’s social economic life were shut down, wearing of masks was made mandatory, and social distancing became the order of the day. Kenyans exhibited togetherness, took personal responsibility, and were very vigilant in handling themselves during this trying time. It was then assumed that the second wave would come stronger than the first and affect more Kenyans. Due to this, everyone was very careful and observed the set protocols. However, due to the awareness and preparation, we waved through it without many casualties as was expected. Madam Temporary Speaker, just when we thought the worst had passed, on the second week of March 2021, almost exactly a year after the first case of the COVID-19 was reported in Kenya, a third wave of the virus was officially announced. This came as a shock and caught many off guard. It was a more aggressive strain and therefore claimed more lives at a faster rate than the first and second waves combined. The Africa Center of Disease Control (CDC) noted that the positivity rate went up to 26.6 per cent in March 2021, and the country’s total official death rate for the third wave increased by more than 13 per cent. As a result of the third wave, there was a significant increase in the number of patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on ventilators and in need of oxygen, and the situation was only worsening by the day causing hospitals to experience a complete lack of bed capacity and machinery to treat patients. Sick Kenyans were forced to pay hefty amounts just to book and wait for beds and treatment. There was an upsurge of patients, hospitals overflowed, and it was quite unfortunate that once again, the Government seemed to be unprepared in the handling and management of the affected Kenyans, especially because schools which were previously being used as isolation centers were back in session. On March 3rd 2021, the first batch containing one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Kenya and a few more have since been introduced to the Kenyan market. The Ministry of Health established a national COVID-19 vaccine deployment task force to guide the roll out of the vaccines including the regulation, safety monitoring, financing, procurement and logistics. The vaccine was received with a lot of mixed feelings because as happy as we were to receive them, it was quite unsettling to hear that many countries were halting"
}