Tanzania has signalled that it is not intending to use any Covid-19 vaccine but instead will settle on local herbs for protection against the disease.
Speaking to the EastAfrican Gerald Chamii, a spokesman at the Ministry of Health said, “There are no plans in place yet of importing vaccines for Covid-19, our health experts and scientists are still researching and undergoing clinical trials for the local herbs for covid-19.”
Chemii put doubt on the efficacy levels of the current global vaccines claiming the production duration was not efficient enough to warrant a maximum protection.
“It takes not less than six months to find a vaccine or cure for a certain disease. We have fared on our own since the pandemic spread, I am not sure if it is wise to have a vaccine imported and distributed to the citizens without undertaking clinical testing to approve if it is safe for our people,” added Mr Chami.
Tanzania is among the first countries in Africa to order for the touted Madagascar Covid herb in the fights against the virus.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina is the promoter-in-chief of the substance, marketed as Covid-Organics and sold in the form of a herbal infusion.
Artemisia annua has a long history in its native China, where scientists discovered an active ingredient that made the plant a front-line weapon in the fight against malaria.
The substance has proven effectiveness against malaria, but no clinical trials have tested it against COVID-19, either as a cure or as a preventative.
Little is known in Tanzania on the number of positive cases due to the government’s stun position on the virus.
Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli had declared the East African country as Covid-free and did not place any curfew or confinement to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
Countries like the United State have warned its citizens from traveling to Tanzania to avoid risks of contracting the virus.
In its update, the U.S. cautioned its citizens against traveling to East Africa, assigning Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi Level 4 alert.