The Ministry of Health (MoH) has clarified circulating claims that vaccines being used in the ongoing polio vaccination campaign are unsafe.

This comes after a recent vaccination drive conducted between October 2 and 6 led to the death of two children from the targeted 3 million, raising health concerns about the safety of the polio shots.

Director General for Health Patrick Amoth said the ministry received 23 reports of post-vaccination events in the campaign period. 

In a communiqué dated November 9, MoH said that the concerns were probed by the Kenya National Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee (KNVSAC) which found out that "the reactions were coincidental and resolved over time".

"Many times, health events happen around the time of vaccination by chance and are not caused by the vaccine itself," read the report in part.

The Ministry further maintained that the vaccines are safe, assuring parents that their children are safe and no similar incidences will occur.

Parents and caregivers have been urged to report any cases to the nearest health facility or through *271# ahead of the expected second round of the polio vaccination campaign which started on November 9 and will run until November 13.

All Kenyan children under the age of 5 years are expected to be up to date with childhood vaccines where they receive Polio vaccines at birth, 6 weeks, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks as per the routine immunization schedule.

In the event of an outbreak, the polio vaccine is given to all children 0-59 months irrespective of their previous vaccination status.

Polio is a highly infectious and debilitating vaccine-preventable viral disease with the potential to cause paralysis and even death in a matter of hours among young children who are not fully vaccinated 

While there is no cure for Polio, the disease can be prevented by receiving the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV).

The Ministry aims to boost population immunity among children in Kenya through the vaccination drive.