(28 Jan 2021) Tanzania’s president on Wednesday openly expressed doubt about COVID-19 vaccines and accused people who were vaccinated outside the East African nation of bringing new infections into the country.
Speaking during an event in his hometown, President John Magufuli warned against Tanzanians being used as “guinea pigs” for the vaccines.
Magufuli, who offered no evidence to support his doubts, has been widely criticized for declaring the coronavirus defeated in Tanzania.
The country hasn't updated its number of confirmed infections since the middle of last year, when it reported 509 cases.
But now other authorities in the country, including the Catholic church, appear to be pushing back as parts of the African continent see a strong second surge in virus infections.
Magufuli also suggested that donated vaccines are part of a conspiracy to steal Africa's wealth.
He also questioned the credibility of donated virus tests.
The president in the past has told Tanzanians not to implement social distancing while encouraging them to use untested herbal remedies to treat the disease.
Some people who opposed the government's assertion that Tanzania was coronavirus-free have been arrested.
Magufuli won a second five-year term in office in an October election which opposition leaders blasted as a “butchering of democracy.”
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