GYN CHRONICLES
Vaccination
Dr . Maureen Owiti
Wonders will never cease !!! This year I am truly privileged to have been a frontline worker and the reason I feel so special is because , I had free access to the Astra Zeneca Vaccine - Covishield . It was 5th March 2021 when the Ministry of Health rolled out the vaccination campaign . I had volunteered to be one of the first guinea pigs in real life setting for the vaccine .
In usual fashion I got derailed with my activities during the day and completely forgot that the vaccine administration was on-going . I got a call from my sister that some of my friends and colleagues were blasting the internet with their pictures and captions on how they had received the vaccine following 001 - none other than the DG himself Dr . Patrick Amoth .
Seeing as I had registered my interest in getting the vaccine I left the office and dashed to the appointed site at Kenyatta National Hospital . The place was well arranged and I just made it in the nick of time as they were about to close for the day . The health records were digital and I gave out my details and proceeded to the next step . The nurse was equally digital and had to confirm my registration for vaccination . She entered my ID number and there I was registered to get the vaccine .
I hate jabs but can fake bravery to the highest level ( hazard of the trade as you must never look flustered or surprised ). I think we have all been immensely entertained by some Far East videos of someone , who I think was a Minister of Health and his antics while receiving the
The other conspiracy was that it was an m-RNA vaccine that could somehow rewrite your DNA . For this to happen the vaccine must enter nucleus of the cell and to do that it would require several enzymes which are released sequentially at relevant times . The vaccine doesn ’ t contain these enzymes and doesn ’ t have signals to release them at specific time . Long and short the vaccine cannot rewrite your DNA . jab and even more hilarious was the soldier who had to be restrained by almost 6 of his colleagues to receive the jab . If you saw Dr . Alfred Mutua , Machakos Governor ’ s grimacing face then the point comes alive . Anyway on a more serious note I feigned bravery and as usual looked away , there was a slight prick and it was done . I had received my first shot of Covishield !
Kudos to the IT team rolling out the vaccine initiative . Before I left the facility I had a congratulatory text from MOH- CHANJO that I had received the first dose of Covishield vaccine Batch No . 41202029 . I got a follow up text informing me that my 2nd dose is scheduled for Friday 30th April at Kenyatta National Hospital ( facility ) Kibra Sub County .
My only regret was that I could not vaccinate my family as the first round was reserved for frontline workers , which included health workers , police and teachers . Fortunately , by the time of writing this article the MOH had opened the space to include people aged 58 and above . This gave us the opportunity to vaccinate our parents , whom we have been very scared for .
Since November 2019 the whole world had been gripped in fear when the World Health Organization announced the presence of this dreaded disease which at that time was named the Novel Coronavirus , Covid-19 . We saw lockdowns and as I write the country has embarked on another 30 day lockdown . Everyone was petrified at the thought of
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