KENYA: Kenya Catholic Bishops in Favor of Covid-19 Vaccines as “Licit and Ethically Acceptable”

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

Days after Kenya received over one million AstraZeneca doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has welcomed the antigen describing the vaccination exercise as “licit and ethically acceptable.”

In a statement signed by the Conference’s Chairman Most Rev. Philip Arnold Anyolo, the bishops in Kenya highlight, “The Church notes that it is licit and ethically acceptable to receive all Covid-19 vaccines that the Ministry of Health recognizes as clinically genuine, safe and effective.”

According to KCCB, in the “absence of other means to stop or even prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, the common good calls for vaccination, primarily to protect the weakest and most exposed.”

The Catholic church leaders have called on citizens to understand that receiving the available Covid-19 vaccines is an act of “charity towards other community members” and “an act of love of our neighbour and part of our moral responsibility for the common good.”

In the collective statement dated Tuesday, March 9, the bishops have urged the Ministry of Health to “take all the necessary steps required to affirm to the public that the vaccines are genuine, safe and effective in order to encourage people to be vaccinated.”

The bishops who lauded the government for working tirelessly to ensure that the most vulnerable Kenyans have access to the newly released Covid-19 vaccine, have clarified that “vaccination is not, as a rule, an obligation.”

In this regard, they have noted that vaccination “can only be done on voluntary basis and at the discretion of an individual after giving informed consent.”

“We therefore appeal to the consciences of Kenyans to accept the Covid-19 vaccines in the light of assurance given by the Ministry of Health,” the Prelates state.

According to the Church leaders, their stand is aligned to the intention of Pope Francis who acknowledged the discovery of the vaccines and “appealed to the nations worldwide to share the vaccines with the neediest in all the regions of the planet.”

The bishops statement comes days after Members of the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association (KCDA), warned Kenyans that Covid-19 vaccine is not necessary. Based on this development, the bishops have clarified that the statement from KCDA “is made by doctors in their own capacity and not on behalf of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

The bishops further acknowledged that the “Catholic Church has since before independence, collaborated with government to roll out high impact life-saving vaccines through her wide network of health facilities as a critical partner in the health sector.”

“We avail our vast network of healthcare facilities to be utilized to ensure the vaccination programme is rolled out in an objective and well-coordinated manner and that the vaccine reaches the most vulnerable as stipulated in the vaccination roll-out plan,” the Bishops have resolved as a way forward.

The Church leaders have further appealed to citizen for continued adherence to Covid-19 protocols by ensuring proper wearing of face masks, frequent washing of hands and keeping distance.

They appreciated Kenyans for playing their roles as individuals to keep Covid-19 infections going “lower and lower” and asked them to remain beacons of hope.