By The Citizen Reporter

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Dar es Salaam. The African Union (AU) recently announced that it has provisionally secured 270 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for all its 55 member states through its African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (Avatt).

The plans by the AU come at a time when Tanzania has chosen a different path after President John Magufuli on Wednesday January cautioned against foreign vaccines.

He warned the Health ministry against rushing to procure Covid-19 vaccines being promoted by foreign nations.

The remark came at a time calls were being made to Tanzanians to remain vigilant and protect themselves against a second wave of coronavirus infections.

On Tuesday, the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) issued a statement urging Roman Catholic faithfuls to protect themselves against the virus, including resorting to prayers, social distancing, hand washing and sanitising.

The letter headlined, “Caution against new coronavirus infections”, said with a number of countries reporting new infections which have resulted in thou- sands of deaths, it was important to remember that Tanzania was not an island.

“Our country is not an island. We have every reason to take precautions, and pray to God so that we can emerge unscathed from this pandemic,” the letter reads in part.

What other African nations are doing

President Magufuli’s remarks came at a time when the African Union (AU) and individual countries on the continent were in the process of securing vaccines.

Already, the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) has pressed the pre-order of the vaccines on behalf of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) with the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim- bank) expected to provide $2 million in advance payments to manufacturers.

South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia are some of the countries on the continent that were at various stages of ordering and administering Covid-19 vaccinations on their populations.

South Africa expects 1.5 million vaccine doses from India between January and February, and the country is ready to pay $5.25 (4.32 euros) per dose, which is nearly 2.5 times the amount paid by most EU countries.

Nigeria expects 10 million doses in March, although the type of vaccine that the country has procured could not be established immediately.

Kenya reported last week that it had ordered 24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is expected to arrive in the second week of February, with Tunisia expected to receive 6 million doses.

On Monday, Morocco said it was rolling out and distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine received last Friday from India ahead of a vaccination campaign slated to commence this week.

The country was also expected to receive the Sinopharm vaccine from China this week with health workers, teachers, security forces and those aged over 75, as well as those living in areas with high Covid-19 rates expected to be vaccinated first.

Last December, Algeria reported its plans to commence vaccinations in January. Egypt kicked off vaccination campaigns last week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the battle Africa must wage for access to vaccines is far from won.

“The likely cost will be around 4.7 billion euros ($5.76 billion), but only a quarter of the nations on the continent can muster the required resources.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts the pandemic will slash $22 trillion off the global economy over 2020 to 2025

Magufuli’s call

Speaking during the launch of a tree farm in Chato, Geita Region, President Magufuli said any decision to embrace Covid-19 vaccines should not be taken lightly.

“You should stand firm. Vaccines are dangerous. If the White man was able to come up with vaccines, he should have found a vaccine for Aids by now; he would have found a vaccine for tuberculosis by now; he would have found a vaccine for malaria by now, and he would have found a vaccine for cancer by now.” He said Tanzanians must be war y of things that were being brought to them by foreign nations.

“Let’s not think that they love us very much. This country is rich. Africa is rich, and everyone is jealous of our vast wealth. We must be very careful,” President Magufuli said.

He directed the Health Minis- try to only clear vaccines for use after they had been certified by Tanzania’s own experts, citing an example of a country (which he did not name) where young girls were vaccinated against what was said to be cervical cancer, but ended up being infertile.

“In a certain country, young girls aged below 14 years  were vaccinated against what was said to be cervical cancer, but it later emerged that the inoculations were meant to make them infertile,” Dr Magufuli said.

“The Health ministry must know that not every vaccine is meaningful to our nation. Tanzanians must be mindful so that we are not used for trials of some doubtful vaccines which can have serious repercussions on our health.”

President Magufuli reiterated that Tanzanians should continue trusting in God while taking all the necessary precautions. “We have lived for over one year without the virus because our God is able and Satan will always fail. The Health ministry should be cautious, and avoid the temptation turn us into a country where vaccine trials are conducted freely,” he said.

He reiterated that he will never impose a lockdown, insisting that Tanzanians will always be free to conduct their daily undertakings, including farming, which, he said, was part of physical exercises that ultimately drive the virus away.

Dr Magufuli said he was aware that some Tanzanians had travelled outside the country where they received coronavirus vaccinations, which, he added, had simply introduced a “dangerous virus” into their bodies.