President Uhuru Kenyatta has cautioned Kenyans including the media against peddling falsehoods on Covid-19 national vaccination exercise saying health workers and frontline service providers will be the first in line to receive the injection.

The President said Government has put in place robust policy measures on how the vaccination campaign will be conducted and advised the media to seek information from the right sources.

“Our policy and it has been clearly stated that we will start with frontline workers. I would appeal to members of the fourth estate to stop disseminating rumours.

“We met as Cabinet and made it very clear that the first persons to be administered with this vaccine shall be our frontline health workers. That is category number one.

"They (health workers) will be followed by our category number 2, who will be our security forces, who also due to the nature of their work are equally frontline workers," the President stated.

The Head of State spoke Thursday at the Central Vaccine Depot in Kitengela, Kajiado County where he flagged off the countrywide distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The President said other groups of people that will be given priority during the vaccination campaign are teachers and defined emergency service providers.

“Included also will be our teachers because as you know we have resumed learning and our teachers are equally just as exposed.

"We will then move to those with co-mobilities and those above the age of 58 as we move to the rest of the population,” the President outlined.

President Kenyatta reiterated Government’s unflinching resolve to ensure the success of the vaccination exercise and urged Kenyans to continue observing Covid-19 containment protocols.

“I want to tell Kenyans that this disease is still in our midst. The vaccines do not mean that we are through. We must continue to protect ourselves. Put on masks, wash hands, sanitize and keep social distance," the President said.

He urged Kenyans to continue supporting frontline health workers especially in the administration of the Covid-19 vaccine saying the Government will provide the logistical support needed to ensure the national exercise succeeds.

“This is the time to come together and ensure that we are able to provide this much needed service to our people. As far as we are concerned in Government our role is to help these wonderful people who work day and night with logistics,” President Kenyatta said.

The Head of State said experts will continue giving progress updates on the vaccination campaign and expressed confidence that the country will emerge stronger from the ravages of the deadly disease.

Going forward, the President said the country will continue procuring more doses of the life saving vaccines noting that the second consignment will arrive in the country at the end of this month.

In his remarks, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said Kenya is among the first countries in Africa to receive the vaccine and thanked President Kenyatta for the support his Ministry continues to receive from Government.

Mr Kagwe assured Kenyans that his Ministry was adequately prepared to oversee a successful national Covid-19 vaccination campaign.

While responding to a journalist's question, Ag.Director General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth said the first phase of the vaccination campaign will run until end of June this year and benefit 1.2 million Kenyans. The second phase to benefit 9.6 million people will start thereafter.