The Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe has announced that it is illegal to sell the COVID-19 vaccine to Kenyan citizens.

Mutahi was speaking at a media briefing on Monday.

He said that the government has learnt that there are some facilities that are charging citizens for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mutahi emphasized that vaccines are not for sale in Kenya and advised Kenyans against paying for to be vaccinated.

 “There are some facilities that we have learnt are charging citizens for vaccinating them. We want to make it very clear, vaccines are not for sale in Kenya,” he said.

He said any health institution charging for the COVID-19 vaccine violates the law and Kenyans should refuse to pay.

“As a citizen, if anybody proposes you should pay for being vaccinated I want you to know that they are in violation of the law and you should refuse to pay. In fact, the best thing for you to do is to get vaccinated and then refuse to pay,” he added.

During the same press briefing, Mutahi also warned that all COVID-19 vaccinations should be done in Ministry of Health designated facilities. 

He reiterated that the administration of the vaccine should be done by qualified persons approved by the government.

"Administration of any vaccine should be done by a qualified nursing staff who has received recent training from MoH," he said.

The CS called for citizen responsibility when it comes to going to vaccination facilities that are not MoH approved.