It was taken out of context - Health CS Mutahi Kagwe recants statement on Covid-19 vaccine

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has recanted a statement made on Wednesday concerning the new Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

In a statement released later in the day, CS Kagwe claimed that media reports had taken his utterances "out of context".

The CS had appeared before the Senate Health Committee where he disclosed that he has "personal" reservations about the BNT162b2 vaccine developed by Pfizer and their German partner BioNTech SE.

CS Kagwe has since stated that his reservations were based on opinions expressed by experts in the medical field.

"My attention has been drawn to a short video clip from an internal broad discussion about vaccines in which I appear to be skeptical about the efficacy of vaccines and how they work.

"This clip has been taken out of context as it was specifically directed at reports of Pfizer developing a vaccine that is reported to be 95% effective; this response is driven by the reaction of top medics and if well guided, perhaps we all should share in it," Kagwe's statement read in part.

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe during a virtual session with the Senate Health Committee Pulse Live Kenya

He added that in light of doubts cast by global experts, Kenya would not commit taxpayers' shillings to pre-order the vaccine.

"We will not commit the Kenyan taxpayers money to pre-order vaccine candidate with little if any peer-reviewed evidence supporting their efficacy. We should instead wait for globally and scientifically acceptable vaccines. We are on the side of caution," CS Kagwe stated.