Around twenty (20) countries have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine pending the investigations of negative underlying impacts the vaccine has had on people. Among the countries that had suspended the vaccine is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the neighboring South Africa. Despite the suspension Botswana plans to go ahead and vaccinate its population with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Kabelo Ebineng, the Ministry of Health and Wellness Permanent Secretary announced the government’s intentions yesterday. According to Ebineng, Botswana is a sovereign state and as such it would do as it see fit. That some people had some conditions after being vaccinated, Ebineng does not dispute, but he argues that it is not proven that it was due to AstraZeneca. He also says that the number was insignificant compared to those that did not have any problem after receiving the vaccine.
“It is true that in the past days, a number of countries like Denmark indicated that after vaccinating some problems were encountered. Some countries then suspended the vaccine due to those reports. AstraZeneca then released a statement to say that those problems encountered had nothing to do with the vaccine. That it was just a coincidence that those people had problems after getting the vaccine” Ebineng said.
According to Ebineng, they as the Government of Botswana trust that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe for vaccinating the Botswana population. He says this is because the tests done by the World Health Organization (WHO), and also by Europe and American health experts suggest that the vaccine is safe. He says this despite the fact that most of the countries that suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine are European countries. Moreover, the AstraZeneca vaccine is still undergoing phase-three clinical trials and has therefore not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For her part, the Director of Health Services- Dr. Malebogo Kebabonye says though the vaccine had some impacts on some people it does not mean it should be suspended in Botswana. She indicated that those people and countries had different conditions than Batswana.
Meanwhile the Botswana Doctors Union, which is a stakeholder under health services condemned Botswana’s decision to go ahead vaccinating the nation with AstraZeneca vaccine despite the reports of the vaccine causing blood clots in some people. Botswana had received thirty thousand 30 000 of doses from India recently.
