Senators root for mass vaccination against Covid-19
Hillary Mageka @hillarymageka
Senators yesterday urged the national government to prioritise mass vaccination as part of its marshal plan to tackle Covid-19 pandemic.
Citing the high number of deaths recorded as a result of the pandemic, the legislators have declared that a mandatory vaccination regime is the only way to get out of the contagion.
Speaking in the Senate yesterday, legislators also want existing Covid-19 protocols developed to be strongly enforced with special consideration to 2022 campaigns and elections in order to help Kenyans deal with this monstrous virus.
“As we go to elections, we want the political class to understand and appreciate that even as we look for public offices, we owe our duty to our country not to endanger the population by recklessly engaging in rallies and endangering people’s lives,” Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula said.
He regretted that the Madaraka Day event held in Kisumu city last month where people threw caution to the wind and interacted as if all was notmal had brought tragedy to Western Kenya.
Nominated Senator Farhiya Ali called on politicians to be careful with the lives of Kenyans, as they endeavour to popularise themselves to them.
“If we care about this country and the people we are asking support, then the least we can do is not to engage in activities that can increase the spread of the disease,” said Farhiya.
Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina called on the government to put aside everything, including any gigantic projects and procure vaccines so that a large population can be vaccinated.
“County governments must come in and prioritise the issue of fighting Covid-19,” Senator Maina said, adding that anybody who might have been associated with squandering Covid funds should be dealt with.
Minority Leader Senator James Orengo regretted the increase in Corona numbers and deaths, saying the government has not come out more aggressively to show Kenyans how they have fought the pandemic and what they are going to do in the future, particularly because now we have got new variants.
“Getting two jabs at any particular time is not an assurance that one will not get the disease,” Orengo said.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja said as a country we need to take the issue of vaccines seriously.
“Kenya cannot keep waiting for donations of vaccines yet we are spending billions on infrastructure. We must get people vaccinated,” he held
