Should Kenya Join Other Countries In Trying Out The New Covid-19 Cure?

Cases of Covid-19 in Kenya are skyrocketing. They are nearing 8,000. The Ministry of Health says Kenyans should expect cases to spike, to up to more than 500 per day in the coming few days.

Scarier, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) says that at least 2.7 million Kenyans have been exposed to active Covid-19 cases. Such news should not be taken lightly and should shake us to the bone marrow itself.

Since the announcement of the first case of Covid-19, Kenya’s economy has been melting to the land of no return. The horde of businesses have shut down and millions of people have been left jobless. In fact, according to Infotrak, 63 percent of Kenyans cannot pay rent due to the pandemic.

Children are out of school. There was some little hope that they would be going back to school in September but Professor George Magoha, the CS for education has already filled out that possibility. The only hope is that schools might reopen in 2021.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) insists that there is no cure for Covid-19. Even if the cure was to be found, WHO says that it would take at least 18 months for the world to have it. Currently, according to WHO, there is no approved vaccine for the virus.

What are the people supposed to do? Stay indoors forever? No. How will they support themselves and their families by staying indoors? That is not an option. How about washing hands, putting on a mask, and observing social distance? Are those guarantees that one cannot contract the virus? No.

The problem with many countries, Kenya included, is that we have been running away from the pandemic. It hit and we took off, without looking back and understanding what was chasing us. Other countries such as Russia had to stop and analyze the enemy.

Question is, can we handle the enemy who is after our lives and ready to kill us en masse? The answer is yes. How? By studying what other countries are doing. Like Russia.

Russia has approved the use of this drug called Favipiravir which is being touted as a potential antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19. Would it be prudent for Kenya to try out the same? Is it time for Kenya to find out how Russia & now India is doing it and borrow some of the knowledge? Be the judge and leave me your comments in the comment section.