Kenya approved the first Covid-19 vaccine tests

The government has approved the first Covid-19 vaccine to be tested in the country. The Oxford University-developed vaccine is approved for testing in Kenya, according to a post posted by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on Tuesday. The trials, conducted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (CAMERI), will recruit 400 health workers in Kilifi and Mombasa counties. The next step, though usually mon formal, will be the final approval by the National Commission for Science, Technology, G and Innovation (NACOSTI).

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This makes Kenya the second country in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa to conduct clinical trials for the Covid 19 vaccine. South Africa began trials for the same Oxford University vaccine, known as CHAdOx1 nCoV-19, in June. Global trials of the vaccine stalled last Tuesday due to a serious and unexpected adverse reaction from a participant in the UK. Vaccine co-developers AstraZeneca said trials have been postponed worldwide for an independent committee to review safety data. Locally, however, these tests will determine the safety of the vaccine, its ability to produce protection, and its effectiveness against the new virus in adult Kenya. The protocol states, “Only doctors00 healthcare workers will be enrolled in this study, including doctors, nurses, clinical officers, pharmacists, mortuary attendants and allied healthcare professionals.”

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Due to the high risk of commercial exposure to Covid-19, health workers are given priority, so their safety is urgently needed. Participants who receive a single dose of the vaccine will be followed for 12 months. Judging by the vaccine testing in Kenya, the protocol says this is important, as vaccine operations may work differently in Africa than other population studies. On Monday, Cabinet Administrative Secretary for Health Rashid told us that the Poison Board has received seven applications for the Covid-19 drug study. “Four of them have been approved,” he said during the daily Covid-19 situation correction. Recent approved studies include studies for the experimental use of chloroquine / hydroxychloroquine for the prevention of covid-19 in healthy adults. COPCOV The named study will be conducted by Camry at four locations in Kilifi, Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu, targeting 1,600 health workers. Globally, the study has a target of 40,000 participants.

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While chloroquine / hydroxychloroquine has been discounted as ineffective against Covid-19, some experts have argued that this is not supported by the evidence. Expecting approval is also a request from Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital for experimental use of blood plasma in Covid-19 patients. “The study is at the stage of regulatory approval. As soon as all those systems go, we’ll let you know, “said Dr. Marian Kigua-Njou, Director of Research at KU Standard Last week. The study protocol, which targets 208 volunteers, states that “the main objective of this trial is to focus on the safety and efficacy of neonatal plasma therapy in critically infected patients.” Prospective donors will be required to meet standard criteria for blood donation. However, they must confirm previous infection with SARS-CoV2 and also perform a negative test to show that it has been recovered. Earlier, the Pharmacy Board had approved a World Health Organization-sponsored solidarity trial and another study in which Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, is experimenting with Tosilizumab, a medicine for arthritis, in Covid-19 patients. During the Covid-19 briefing yesterday, we were told that the ministry was not yet aware of the suspension. He said plans to start a trial of the vaccine were already underway, as the necessary approvals had been given. “This new information has not come to my notice,” he said, adding that he announced 104 new cases and eight deaths, increasing the case load to 35, fat6060 and 707 deaths. Clinical trials of the vaccine, in the third phase, target 20,000,000 individuals. As the United Kingdom and the CASA noted, the difference was that more people of ethnic backgrounds, including Africans, were to be recruited. We were told that plans for an ongoing trial in Kenya were still ongoing.