Athlete vaccination draws to a close

The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage has, in an official statement, announced that the athlete vaccination exercise that was rolled out in the country back on 8th April will come to an end today.

The letter signed by cabinet secretary Amina Mohammed confirmed that a total of 4,455 athletes had been inoculated since the activity commenced eleven days ago. The Ministry also confirmed that any athlete or sports personnel who had been left out of the exercise due to one reason or the other will be catered for even after the exercise is completed.

“As the mass vaccination exercise for the first dose comes to an end today, I am pleased to report that we have so far vaccinated 4,255 of the target population who reside in Nairobi County. Further, another 200 based in other counties outside Nairobi City have also been vaccinated. We plan to continue with the vaccination exercise in consultation with the Ministry of Health to cover any athlete or athlete handler set for national assignments who may have been left out due to factors beyond their control,” the statement read.

The vaccination rollout came as a safety requirement to athletes who are increasingly being required to take the vaccine in order to participate in international events. Among those given priority in the exercise included national teams with specific priority to teams participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games, all personnel working on the World Rally Championship/ FIA Safari Rally Kenya, World Athletics Under 20 Championships, World Athletics Continental Tour, the Rugby under-20 Barthes Cup, most of the mentioned events that are set to take place in the country in the near future.

The cabinet secretary thanked the athletes who had stepped up and taken the vaccine.

“I also wish to appreciate athletes and all who presented themselves for the vaccination exercise. Your cooperation and discipline towards this exercise has been excellent,” she said.