One in two Kenyans may have already contracted Covid-19. From research by the Kenya Medical Research Centre, based on a large sample of blood donors over the past few months, the country is heading towards a comforting herd immunity, which is certainly traveling faster than the vaccination campaign.
According to Kemri, serosurveillance, which highlights the levels of antibodies developed against infectious diseases, is considered a reliable measure for assessing the population's immunity.
Judging from the data collected, the number of people who contracted the virus in Kenya may have been underestimated.
Researchers reveal that blood donors nationwide were convinced they had not yet contracted Covid-19 because they never showed any symptoms of the disease.
From the percentage highlighted in Nairobi (61.8%) to those slightly lower in the regions of Western Kenya, they show that the presence of SARS-CoV2 antibodies in donors aged between 15 and 64 years in twelve months has increased by 44.2%.
A figure that in projection could lead to herd immunity very soon, net of course of new variants.
It is natural that many doctors throw water on the fire, because antibody tests can offer a reference and a trend, but they have no diagnostic value. For some, herd immunity given the variations of Covid-19 may not have the desired effects, for others those who have contracted the virus asymptomatic may have developed better antibodies than those who have been vaccinated.
In any case, other experts in Nairobi and Mombasa, as reported by the national newspaper Daily Nation, agree that, from what emerges from the projections of KEMRI, the number of infected nationwide may have been underestimated.
The important thing is that this report of the government agency does not lead to optimism and does not put the Kenyan government in a position to think that the vaccination campaign is not a priority. Also because, as President Kenyatta himself recently reminded us, the Coronavirus emergency in the country at present is also an economic fact.
Consequently, getting vaccinated is not only a protection for your health but also a moral duty towards the country and all workers.
Meanwhile, yesterday the Kenya Coast Tourism Association announced the Government's plan to help 39,000 employees in the tourism sector who have been temporarily or permanently out of work: in the next three months they will receive 4000 shillings per month to make up for the total or partial lack of salary.