Tanzania’s government has signaled it will rather settle on local herbs for protection against Covid-19 than import Covid-19 vaccines.
The government said it does not have any plans of importing already approved Covid-19 vaccine being used for mass vaccination in Europe and America.
The country wants to pin its hopes on research into “local herbs”, according to local media reporting.
Health Ministry spokesperson Gerald Chami told The East African newspaper, that his country has doubt over the safety and efficacy of imported vaccines.
According to Chami, the development of the vaccines has been too rapid for effective testing.
Despite his claim, there is enough evidence that the approved Covid-19 vaccine tests meet rigorous international standards.
This is not the first time Tanzania has disagreed with global health organizations on Covid-19 and how to handle the pandemic.
The East African country is one of the first to order Madagascar’s self-proclaimed, plant-based Covid-19 remedy in May.
Tanzania stopped reporting new cases at the end of April, and President John Magufuli claimed that the country was virus-free.
Meanwhile there are already African countries planning to import millions of the available vaccines for their citizens.
Source: Africafeeds.com