4,455 athletes, sports personnel so far vaccinated, says Amina

The Ministry of Sports has vaccinated 4,455 athletes and sports personnel as the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination program for athletes concluded on Monday.

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed said 4,255 were vaccinated in Nairobi while an additional 200 received the Covid-19 vaccine outside the capital in the 12-day exercise.

Amina explained the exercise is key as Kenya readies to host major international sporting events that includes; World Under-20 Championships, World Rally Championships, Rugby Barthes Cup and Nairobi Continental Tour.

Furthermore, Amina assured national team players who missed out on the exercise that the government will cater for them.

“We plan to continue vaccination exercise in consultation with the Ministry of Health to cover any athlete or athlete handler set for national assignments and may have been left out due to factors beyond their control,” Amina said in a statement.

While vaccination is not a mandatory requirement for athletes competing in the delayed Games Amina said athletes are now safe to travel and participate in international events.

“This exercise will pave way for our teams to safely compete in international events with the full protection of the vaccine,” she said.