Veterinarians have called on the government to consider giving them the AstraZeneca vaccine as they are also front line workers.
Through the Kenya Veterinary Paraprofessional Association, they noted that due to the nature of their work, they were exposed to spreading the virus from one village to another.
The association national chairman John Ngigi noted that one vet had the capability of visiting up to 15 farmers every day mainly in the rural areas.
He said that this exposed both the vet and the farmer to the virus adding that this would be contained by getting the jab.
“We applaud the government for the ongoing vaccination exercise but vets should be considered among front line workers who should get this vaccine jab,” he said.
Ngigi added that the vets could act as a catalyst in spreading the virus due to the nature of their job which involved treating livestock from one village to the other.
“The vets can easily erode the gains made in the ongoing vaccination exercise as they could easily spread the virus among their customers,” he said.
He at the same time called on security officers to stop harassing vets who were moving from one center to the other treating livestock, noting that despite the pandemic, life had to go on.
“The economy needs to grow despite the pandemic and security officers should allow licensed vets to treat livestock in different parts of the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, services at the Naivasha law courts have been suspended for ten days after a Covid-19 scare in the busy facility.
As a result, all court users have been directed to file their cases at the Nakuru law courts which incidentally have also been affected by the pandemic.
Members of the staff have been directed to work from home as the judiciary embarked on a fumigation exercise and plans to give a jab on all the workers.
In a notice signed by Chief Magistrate Kennedy Bidali, one positive case had been confirmed following a random test on the workers.
Bidali noted that following an emergency meeting between the court users committee it had been decided that the courts be closed down.
“Naivasha law courts will be closed for ten days to allow the staff to isolate and all matters affected will be given fresh dates,” read the notice.