Burundi makes U-turn on Covid-19 vaccines
Burundi will now accept the Covid-19 vaccine, after describing it as “not yet necessary” more than five months ago.
CAPE TOWN, July 29 (ANA) – Burundi will now accept the Covid-19 vaccine, after describing it as “not yet necessary” more than five months ago.
Burundi’s Health Minister Dr Thaddée Ndikumana said Covid-19 vaccines were now welcome by the country, the BBC reported on Thursday.
However, he added that there will be no campaigns to encourage citizens to receive the jab, but rather they can receive a vaccine if they need.
The minister gave no details about the number of doses to be received nor when delivery will be made.
Ndikumana’s remarks stand in stark contrast to his views five months ago.
In February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 90 million Covid-19 vaccine doses would begin shipping to Africa through the Covax initiative, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
On February 4, Ndikumana said: “Since more than 95% of patients are recovering, we estimate that the vaccines are not yet necessary.”
The BBC reported that the landlocked East African country’s cumulative total of Covid-19 cases has been questioned.
As of July 28, the WHO has recorded a cumulative total of 6,715 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with nine deaths.
In comparison, its East African neighbour, Rwanda, a country of similar size and population, has recorded a cumulative total of 64,706 cases, with 771 deaths as of July 28.
Rwanda has also administered nearly 400,000 vaccine doses as of July 26.
Burundi’s U-turn on the vaccine comes soon after Tanzania launched its own vaccination drive on Wednesday, as announced by chief government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa on Twitter.
Tanzania was previously infamous for the late president John Magufuli’s denialist narrative on Covid-19.
Tanzania’s first woman president, Samia Suluhu, who came to power after Magufuli’s death, is largely lauded for Tanzania’s proactive approach to the pandemic.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
