The Ministry of Health has advised Kenyans to be on the lookout as they head to health facilities to receive Covid-19 vaccines.
This is after it was discovered that two male adults were administering fake Johnson and Johnson vaccines at a private health facility in Roysambu, Nairobi.
Wallace Mugendi and Kenneth Mukundi were arrested at the Crane Hospital along Lumumba Drive, Roysambu constituency and have since been charged with impersonating medical doctors.
According to the Directorate of Criminal investigations, the two suspects were nabbed after members of the public raised alarm that the two were demanding for Kshs3, 000 before administering the vaccines.
The suspects were arraigned before Milimani Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Synkian Tobiko, who ordered that they be detained for five days to allow for investigations.
They are set to appear in court on September 14, 2021 to respond to the charges levelled against them.
According to the Ministry of Health, Covid vaccines provided by the government are not for sale.
“Following media reports on the alleged administration of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the Ministry of Health would like to urge Kenyans not to get lured into paying for a Covid-19 vaccine. All vaccines provided by the Government of Kenya are free of charge. There is no cost at all to the available multiple vaccines,” the MOH statement reads.
The ministry further revealed that the batch of J&J vaccines available in the country were yet to be rolled out, and were released on Thursday.
“The Ministry of Health also wishes to confirm that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has never been deployed. The first batch of 141,600 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was received in the first week of September 2021. The vaccine will be deployed to different health centres nationwide different from Thursday 9th September 2021,” the statement further read.
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