ADF STAFF
Tanzania’s dramatic about-face regarding its COVID-19 response was highlighted July 24 when the nation received more than 1 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines donated by the U.S. government through the COVAX global plan to distribute shots equitably. Tanzania was one of 11 East African nations that recently received vaccines through COVAX.
Late Tanzanian President John Magufuli was a staunch COVID-19 skeptic who refused to accept vaccine deliveries and urged his countrymen to pray the pandemic away. A shift in COVID-19 policies began after Magufuli died in March and new President Samia Suluhu Hassan took over.
Hassan urged citizens to get vaccinated as she received the country’s first COVID-19 vaccine shot on live television in late July.
“I have come out to show the public who look up to me, and fully cognizant that as a president I am the shepherd to many whom I lead,” Hassan said. “So I wouldn’t risk my life by taking this vaccine, I have agreed on my own volition to be vaccinated, knowing in any case I have been living with many other vaccines in my body for the last 61 years now.”
Tanzania’s campaign to vaccinate its 59.7 million people began as the country faces a third wave of infections, a phenomenon occurring in many East African nations.
“I call upon the public, particularly the priority groups, to go for the vaccine so as to reduce the rate of infection, as well as reduce the number of patients demanding treatment and access to ventilators in health centers,” Tanzanian Health Minister Dr. Dorothy Gwajima said on the United Nations website.
On July 17, the U.S. donated 151,200 Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Djibouti via COVAX. The country has received 175,200 vaccines since its inoculation campaign began in March.
“This donation will help protect the Djiboutian people from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 virus,” U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti Jonathan Pratt said. “The United States is proud to be the largest donor to the COVAX global initiative on COVID-19.”
Ethiopia has received 2.6 million vaccines through COVAX — more than any other country in the region. The most recent delivery of 453,600 Johnson & Johnson vaccines donated by the U.S. arrived July 19.
Dr. Tenaye Desalegn, who works at Eka Kotebe Hospital in Addis Ababa, was the first Ethiopian to receive the shot. The country has a population of 112 million people.
“I have been working at [the hospital] for 10 months now caring for COVID-19 patients, always anxious, always worrying that I might myself one day contract the disease,” Desalegn said on the World Health Organization’s website. “I am grateful for the opportunity to get vaccinated. I can now treat my patients with better assurance of my own safety as I continue to employ all prevention measures.”
Kenya received 410,000 doses of the United Kingdom-produced AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX on July 31, bringing the number of vaccines Kenya has procured through the global plan to 1.2 million. France made that donation.
Dr. Willis Akhwale, chairman of Kenya’s COVID Vaccine Deployment Taskforce, was grateful for the vaccines. Kenya is home to 53 million people.
“We have recently embarked on vaccinating our people for the second dose, so this comes at a critical time,” Akhwale said on UNICEF’s website. “It will ensure our health workers, teachers and other essential workers are protected, and that our health centers countrywide can continue providing vital care to people affected by COVID-19.”
The following is a Reuters breakdown of total COVAX-delivered coronavirus vaccines to East African countries:
- Comoros has received 12,000 AstraZeneca shots, all delivered on April 12.
- Somalia has received 300,000 AstraZeneca shots, delivered March 15.
- South Sudan has received 132,000 AstraZeneca shots, delivered March 25.
- Sudan has received 828,000 AstraZeneca shots, delivered March 3.
- Uganda has received 1.2 million shots. The most recent delivery was 175,000 AstraZeneca shots on July 31.