Kenya’s state Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) has given teachers in the East African country seven days from Monday to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or face disciplinary action.

The deadline comes as 1,488 people in Kenya tested positive on Tuesday for the disease from a sample size of 9,773.

The commission has reported a low vaccine uptake by teachers despite being prioritized in the ongoing vaccination exercise.

“We will be asking our county directors and regional directors the number of teachers they have facilitated to get the vaccination and how many teachers are not vaccinated and for whatever reasons, because MoH [the Ministry of Health] has assured us that there are enough vaccines,” said Nancy Macharia, the commission head.

She added that only 33% of teachers in Kenya have been vaccinated. Across the country vaccination centers were full with teachers on Tuesday trying to beat the deadline set by the government.

According to the Health Ministry, Kenya has so far received 2.32 million vaccines and vaccinated 2.1 million people in the East African country, which has a population of 52 million people.

Health officials have warned that children might face new risks in attending school if teachers and staff are not vaccinated.

Normally Kenya’s school year begins in January, but coronavirus restrictions caused the New Year to begin in July after being closed for nine months due to coronavirus.

The positivity rate in Kenya is now 15.2%. From the 1,488 cases Kenya recorded on Tuesday, 1,442 are Kenyans, while 46 are foreigners.

Total confirmed positive cases are now 222,894, and cumulative tests so far conducted number nearly 2.27 million./aa