March 29, 2024

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Covid: How economy can go back to original growth path

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If the vaccination drive is to get the country to achieve herd immunity and put it back on the growth path, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has said.

“While the government through the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) recognises the risk of emergence of new variants of Covid-19, the budgetary commitments towards mitigation of this risk are inadequate,” the think tank said.

The actual allocation for the financial year 2021/22 to facilitate further roll-out of vaccines to create herd immunity, was proposed to be Sh14.3 billion.

This means that Treasury has a heavy-duty to deliver if the country is to be fully vaccinated. “In order to attain the projected economic growth rate of 6 per cent in 2021 and 5.8 per cent in 2022, National Treasury should ensure that more resources are prioritised for Covid-19 vaccination,” the institute said in a press statement.

Various vaccines Based on the cost of various vaccines, a study done by IEA shows that if the government commits to vaccinate the population with an aim to attain herd immunity, that is, vaccinating at least 70 per cent of the population, it will cost Sh48 billion, if only AstraZeneca vaccine was to be administered and Sh77 billion for Johnson and Johnson.

The relatively more expensive vaccines would cost Sh189 billion, Sh139 billion and Sh152 billion for Moderna, Pfizer and Sinopharm respectively. If the vaccines were to be mixed, it would cost approximately Sh96 billion.

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