The Ministry of Health has issued a statement assuring Kenyans that the polio vaccination is safe and effective.
Addressing the press at Afya House on Saturday, November 9, 2024, Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth refuted ongoing claims that two children lost their lives to the vaccine saying the deaths are not attributable to the vaccination process.
Amoth explained that the deaths that happened were coincidental events not directly linked to the immunization program.
He additionally pointed out that already the initiative has achieved success in counties like Busia and Machakos Counties which have exceeded their target by more than 102 to 104 per cent.
This, according to Dr Amoth, is out of the targeted 3.7 million children reached out of the targeted 3.9 million children aged 0 to 59 months.
“We targeted 3.9 million children aged 0 to 59 months and we were able to reach 3.7 million giving us a coverage of 95 per cent with counties like Busia and Machakos exceeding their target by more than 102 to 104 per cent.
“Therefore, I want to call upon all Kenyans and assure them of the safety of the polio virus vaccine and clearly indicate that the two deaths that happened were not directly attributable to the vaccination process, rather they were coincidental events and not directly linked to the immunization campaign that we carried out one month ago,” Dr Amoth said.
Initially, Dr Amoth raised concern after announcing that two children lost their lives during the October 2024 polio vaccination campaign.
At the time, Amoth indicated that the ministry received 23 reports of post-vaccination events following the recent polio vaccination campaign that took place from October 2-6 2024. According to Dr Amoth, the ministry engaged the Kenya National Vaccines Safety Advisory Committee (KNVSAC) which met from October 23-24, 2024 to review all the reports received.
Out of the 23 reported and investigated cases, Dr Amoth said 16 were non-serious, ranging from generalised itchy rash to fever, conjunctivitis, body rashes, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea.
“Seven of the reported cases were serious presenting with generalised red and sometimes itchy bumps in the skin and fever, weakness of the lower limbs, convulsions, diarrhoea and vomiting and herpes zoster,” he stated.
Amoth additionally pointed out that an analysis of the serious and non-serious events showed that 16 of the reported cases had been resolved, while five were in the process of being resolved.
“Two of the reported cases unfortunately resulted in death,” he added.
Further, Amoth stated that investigations of the cases revealed that 18 cases had been classified as coincidental and unrelated to the vaccine due to underlying and other emerging health conditions.
“Factors supporting this classification included timing of symptoms, pre-existing health issues, and environmental exposure to infections. Four were classified as vaccine product-related reactions, such as generalised rash and fever while one case was classified as indeterminate due to insufficient information to determine causality,” he added.