By Our Reporter
Teachers will be among the first people to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the country, a government official has said.
Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Trade and Industrialisation Lawrence Karanja said teachers were classified as frontline workers just because of the large number of learners that they interact with.
The government will also foot medical bills for teachers who are hospitalised with Covid-19, Karanja said.
“The government has made it clear that in the event any teacher gets Covid-19 which requires medical attention, all the expenses will be taken care of by the State,” Karanja said when he toured Lairagwan Primary School in Laikipia North constituency.
The CAS said there was concern that learners who are asymptomatic could transmit Covid-19 to teachers who are aged or have preexisting medical conditions.
Recently, the Ministry of Health announced that Kenya had ordered 24 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) that are expected in the country next month.
Laikipia County Director of Education Susan Murerwa, who accompanied the CAS, said 85 per cent of leaners in the county had resumed classes.
“We are working closely with chiefs and other National Government Administrators to help identify learners who are yet to return to school and find out the reason for their absence. We are encouraging girls who got pregnant to resume learning after giving birth,” said Murerwa.
