Tanzanian leader John Magufuli has seemingly denied his countrymen the right to be vaccinated as he constantly said there is no corona in the East African nation, ABC News reports.
Last week Magufuli urged his citizens to be firm as he said the vaccines were inappropriate when he said:
If the white man was able to come up with vaccinations, then vaccinations for AIDS would have been brought, tuberculosis would be a thing of the past, vaccines for malaria and cancer would have been found. Be firm. Vaccines are inappropriate.
According to ABC he further told the held ministry to take their time:
He urged the health ministry not to rush into vaccinations without being satisfied about their safety. He offered no evidence for his claims.
Magufuli has even accused those who went to get vaccinated in other countries of bringing the virus to Tanzania. Since April last year, Tanzania has not been actively tracking COVID-19 cases and not publishing statistics on the progression of the virus.
Tanzania has not yet announced a vaccination rollout program like other African countries. However, CSOs, Churches, and opposition party leaders have said Tanzania is not an island and Tanzanians deserve to be vaccinated by denying the existence of the virus the country is putting itself at the back of the queue for vaccines.
More: ABC News