Tanzania finally joins COVAX

Four months after countries around the world began receiving shipments of free vaccines through COVAX, Tanzania is finally joining the global initiative.

Tanzania is one of the last countries on the African continent to sign up for free vaccines. Burundi and Eritrea have not joined, and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has also not started a COVID-19 vaccination campaign.  

The turnaround: This reversal in its stance comes in the wake of new leadership in the country, under the presidency of Samia Suluhu Hassan. She succeeds President John Magufuli who was one of the continent’s most prominent skeptics around the science behind the coronavirus, with the government spreading misinformation and refusing to release data on case count.

In early February, Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima announced the country had no plans to accept COVID-19 vaccines, despite the country’s eligibility to receive them for free.

Following Magufuli’s death, Hassan announced the formation of an expert committee to evaluate the nation’s COVID-19 response in early April. It recommended in mid-May that the country join the facility. The country has now submitted its vaccine request form and is currently preparing a vaccination deployment plan, according to representatives of the World Health Organization on Thursday.

Data still needed: But more still needs to be done. WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti encouraged Tanzania to provide country-level COVID-19 data, under its obligations to the International Health Regulations. The country hasn’t reported data since May 2020, but this data will play a crucial role in crafting an effective rollout of vaccines, she said.

There is also uncertainty around when Tanzania might get the vaccines, because of COVAX’s challenges around acquiring vaccines, she said. The COVID-19 crisis in India cut off supplies of AstraZeneca to the facility, after the country restricted vaccine exports.