It's a time in Kenya when Covid-19 no longer seems scary.
At least judging from the public health situation.
It is not so much the numbers (which Italy continues to consider unreliable, we do not know on what basis, given that the reference is always the WHO) as the places occupied in the intensive care units of the country. Not so long ago, last June, during the cold season, they were close to 300, while yesterday the Minister of Health Mutahi Kagwe reported 26 beds occupied, of which only 12 are under ventilation support and other 14 are simply assisted with oxygen. In all of Kenya there is not a single patient under observation in the dedicated wards. This compares to 442 total hospitalized for the virus.
These are numbers that have been repeating themselves for days, like the number of deaths (from two days to zero, but even in previous weeks never more than five in 24 hours).
"In Kenya it kills more than chickenpox - was the comment of a doctor at Mombasa General Hospital - we do not lower our guard and we still wait before saying that there will be a next wave, but certain situations reassure.
How to consider now, 20 months after the beginning of the pandemic, a viral disease that has killed "only" 5241 citizens?
For the umpteenth daily round, the percentage of positives detected by the swabs performed (and these are targeted swabs) is still below one percent (yesterday 0.6%).
By now, more than the situation of contagions we look at the situation of vaccines.
Here the percentage of fully vaccinated adults has risen to 6%, with a total of 5,321,880 doses already administered to about 27 million adults, of which only 1,633,000 have received both doses, a number that is equivalent to 41.8% of the total of those who can get the vaccine certificate.
In the coming days, the Ministry of Health will also bring into play the million doses of Pfizer vaccine donated by the United States. The intent of the government is to get to 10 million vaccinated complete by the end of the year, but at these rates it seems more likely to get to 10 million yes, but of vaccinated with at least the first dose.
Certainly the drop in virality does not have a positive influence on the willingness of citizens to get vaccinated, also considering that almost one in two Kenyans has never traveled abroad, not even to another African country. Asking them to vaccinate just for the sake of an international reopening currently seems utopian.
"What am I going to do about a virus that does not exist?" is the most frequent question. And to the answer "a new wave could arrive and anyway Kenya could be affected internationally", the average Kenyan citizen looks at you more or less like when you explain to an Italian the importance of going to vote.
The only solution for the government, if Kenya were to see itself cut off from the international recovery, the economy and especially tourism, will be to subordinate the vaccine passport to other activities. For now, the vaccine requirement has been introduced only for employees of the state, including private health care and relatives of prisoners who want to meet their loved ones inside the prison. Consideration is also being given to making it necessary for hospital visits as well. For now, the tourism sector is doing everything on its own, are associations and individual activities to invite their employees to be administered vaccines.