The COVID 19 vaccine is still 1 or 2 years away, says the government

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Cyrus Oguna

The COVID 19 vaccine is still 1 or 2 years away, says the government

The Kenya government spokesman Mr. Cyrus Oguna on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, said despite that the best efforts by global health researchers, we may still have wait for one or two years to get a safe COVID 19 vaccine.

Most research companies have committed to crack their heads and deliver a safe vaccine by 2021 or 2022.   

This means that Kenya and the world at large have to keep dodging the virus even as it continues to wreak havoc on human health and the global economy.



Kenya’s current statistics stand (as of June 17, 2020) at

  • 4044 confirmed cases
  • 1353 recoveries
  • 107 deaths

On the global front, there are approximately 8,287,338 confirmed cases with 4,341,853 recoveries. About 446,669 people have died since December 2019.

The 2021/2022 timeline is not good news since most economies have shrunk, and everyone has hoped that the pandemic would be under control so that life can get back to normal.

Mr. Oguna’s remarks come at a time Kenya, like several other countries, is contemplating to reopen her economy. 

Some countries like the US have reopened their economies despite their worrying statistics. Health experts say that a safe vaccine would be the best solution to the COVID 19; otherwise, the world has to coexist with the virus as a solution is sought.

READ ALSO: A brief history of global pandemics leading to the coronavirus

Some of the measures instituted to manage the deadly virus include

  • Regularly washing hand using a germ-killing detergent
  • Wearing masks while in public places
  • Observing the one-meter social distancing rule
  • Mass testing
  • Regular fumigation

Several countries, including Kenya, are undertaking antibody testing, a process that helps to identify the people who suffered from COVID 19 and recovered.

This testing is done under the assumption that such survivors develop hard immunity, like chickenpox.

However, the world health organization and the Centers for Disease Control have distanced themselves from such theories saying there is no evidence to that effect.

Meanwhile, The Kenya Medical Research Institute is researching the possibility of coming up with a herbal remedy for COVID 19.