Nyeri County Health department has urged residents to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines after two people died and a dozen were hospitalised in the past month after contracting the virus.
The department is now urging those who were not vaccinated at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 to visit any health facility in their area and get the vaccine and a booster shot against the virus.
According to Nelson Muriu, the county’s director of health services, those who died had not been vaccinated and were suffering from diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
“We are calling on all those who are yet to be vaccinated to go to any hospital since our services are now integrated and get the vaccinations and the booster shot… the virus is still with us,” he said.
Dr Muriu further noted that the transmission of the disease among the population is low due to the massive vaccination exercise that the department carried out during the pandemic.
“The virus is not as severe as it was then thanks to the mass vaccination exercise where the majority of people received their first dose… however, it could still affect those who have not completed their doses,” he said.
He also advised locals to follow hygienic practices such as washing their hands, sneezing on their elbows and wearing a mask.
“Wearing a mask should be mandatory, especially for those who are coughing… this is a standard practice for everyone, especially when in an enclosed space,” he said, adding that with the prevailing cold weather, there could be a spike in cases and other respiratory illnesses.
Those infected with Covid-19 are admitted to Mt Kenya Hospital, an annex of Nyeri County Referral Hospital.
As of 30 June, approximately 360,378 people had received their first dose of Covid-19, while 293,763 people across the county had been fully immunised against a target of 510,028 people.
A total of 43,070 people have received booster shots, representing eight per cent of the population.
In addition, Dr Muriu said that since the county is not testing as aggressively as it used to, that means the numbers could be higher than what is being reported.
“We are only testing on request when someone is travelling or has presented with covide-like symptoms, which means we could be masking the actual number of cases,” he said.
He said all three vaccines – Moderna, Astrazeneca and Johnson and Johnsons – were available at all health facilities in the county.
The cases were reported in Mukurwe-ini and Nyeri Town constituencies.
