Kenya has stopped paid vaccination against coronavirus with the Russian drug Sputnik V after the government banned private companies from supplying and distributing the drug, Bloomberg reported.
“We had to stop selling vaccines because of a government decree,” said Rupen Haria, director and owner of Harley's Ltd and Unisel Pharma Ltd. In March, these companies received a license from the Kenyan regulator to import Sputnik V into the republic.
Haria said his companies delivered 75,000 doses of the Russian vaccine to Kenya. They were forbidden to sell the drug, but private clinics have already begun to offer paid vaccination with Sputnik V, writes Bloomberg. According to one such clinic in Nairobi, before the ban, one vaccination cost at least 7,700 Kenyan shillings (about $ 71).
“The logistics for handling the vaccine is very expensive,” Haria explained.
Private companies will again be allowed to import and distribute coronavirus vaccines only when the government “is convinced that the entire process is more transparent and accountable,” said Kenyan Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe.
After a government ban, the only vaccine available in Kenya was Covishield. This is a vaccine from AstraZeneca, manufactured in India. Kenya received 1.12 million doses of the drug last month and is planned to vaccinate doctors and the elderly.
RBC sent a request to RDIF, and also asked the Russian Embassy in Kenya and the Kenyan Foreign Ministry for comment.
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FOLLOWING
Sputnik V was approved for emergency use in Kenya on 10 March. After that, the Ministry of Health of the republic allowed a number of private companies to import the Russian vaccine, while banning the sale of it, the head of the national task force for combating COVID-19, Alfred Aquala, told the Star newspaper. He explained that the authorization for emergency use precedes the authorization for unrestricted use throughout the country and commercial transactions with the drug. For the coronavirus vaccine to gain commercial status, it must be approved by the World Health Organization, Aqua added.
