Tanzanian President John Magufuli believed that vaccination against COVID-19 was risky and instead urged Tanzanians to shield themselves from deadly disease by using domestic measures, including steam inhalation.
Magufuli has long downplayed the severity of COVID-19, which killed more than 2.1 million people worldwide. Previously, he doubted the effectiveness of imported COVID tests and encouraged people to pray to defend themselves against coronavirus.
The President has resisted enforcing strict locks to contain the virus, and his government has been criticised for its confidentiality in relation to the outbreak in the East African country, which has not released official COVID-19 statistics for more than six months.
He also advised the Ministry of Health to be careful of vaccines produced abroad. The President gave no evidence to support his concerns about the safety of vaccinations administered in more than 50 countries, according to Our World in Data, after receiving regulatory approval.
A microbiologist who requested anonymity citing fear of government retribution described the President’s comment as “dangerous” and said it might help reverse the country’s decades-long effort to eliminate preventable diseases through vaccines.
Magufuli’s warning comes the day after the Tanzania Catholic Church issued an alert to a rise in suspected COVID-19 infections in the region. In a letter to the Church leaders, the President of the Episcopal Conference (TEC) warned of a potential new wave of infections.
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The TEC Secretary, Father Charles Kitima, told the media that the Catholic Church had seen an exceptionally sharp rise in the number of funeral services being held. He said that there will generally be one or two requiem masses a week in urban parishes, but that now the masses are being performed regularly.
Since the apparent recurrence of cases in recent weeks, Magufuli has sent mixed signals to the public, often encouraging people to seek expert advice, but also insulting those wearing masks to slow the spread of the virus. According to data from the World Health Organization, Tanzania has confirmed 509 COVID-19 infections and a total of 21 deaths.
Data source: Al Jazeera