“# Tanzania is urged to step up public health measures such as wearing masks to combat # COVID19. Science shows that #VaccinesWork and I are encouraging the government to prepare for a COVID vaccination campaign”, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO director for Africa, on Jan. 28. , following President John Magufuli’s comments from the previous day. “WHO is here to support the government and people of Tanzania,” added Moeti.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed Muti’s comments, saying, “I join MoetiTshidi’s call for strong health measures and # COVID19 vaccine preparation. Data sharing by #Tanzania is also important, with cases that crop up among travelers and visitors over the months. “
President Magufuli, who was reelected in a contested October 2020 election, downplays the virus and has told the Health Department not to rush to buy vaccines.
“There are some of our fellow Tanzanians who recently traveled abroad in search of corona vaccines, they are the ones who returned the corona to our country after returning,” Magufuli said at an event on January 27. “My fellow Tanzanians, let’s be firm, some of these vaccines are not good for us.”
“I have really urged the Ministry of Health to be very, very careful with all vaccines imported into our country, not all vaccines have good intentions for our nation, it is important that we Tanzanians are very careful with some of these vaccines imported into our country, ”he said.
“We must put our God first, but at the same time, we are taking all necessary measures, health precautions to protect us from this disease, as advised by our country’s health experts,” said Magufuli. “We (Tanzanians) have lived without the virus for almost a year, and good proof is that most of us don’t mask here,” he added.
During a press conference on Monday (Feb. 1), Tanzanian Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima did not say when the country will start receiving vaccines, but instead reiterated the government’s proposed hygiene practices, including drinking plenty of water and taking local herbs, which the government claims, without proof, can fight the virus.
Tanzania has not updated its Covid-19 data since late April, putting the last number of reported confirmed cases at 509 and the death toll at 21. Those are also the latest figures that Johns Hopkins University has published on its website.
Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, answered a question about Tanzania’s handling of the pandemic and said the continent must be united in its response to the virus to succeed.
“Africa operates with strong coordination from the African Union (AU). Our position is clear, that we must express unity of purpose in order for the continent to succeed,” said Nkengasong.
“Tanzania is a great country, it has been a great country in Africa that preaches and promotes the values of unity in the continent,” he said. “Tanzania’s great cooperation and great solidarity and sense of unity of purpose is much appreciated at this critical moment in our history.”
CNN’s Brent Swails and a CNN source in Tanzania contributed to this report.