Former President John Magufuli's East African government had been a concern for health officials since denying the pandemic. Magufuli, who believed the coronavirus could only be defeated by prayer, died March. His deputy Samia Suuluhu Hashedan was elected president. He has since changed Tanzania's COVID-19 course.
Hassan, who was vaccinated by Johnson & Johnson, expressed his confidence in vaccine safety and stated that the country with more than 58million people would pursue more. The United States announced Saturday that it will deliver more than 1,000,000 doses through the COVAX global initiative, which is aimed at providing low- and medium-income countries.
The challenge for the Tanzanian government is to reverse the lack of trust in COVID-19 vaccines that the previous administration encouraged. "Why don’t we look at our traditional solutions?" Why must we resort to foreign medicine? Kelvin Mmari from Dar es Salaam asked Wednesday if there was something hidden in Dar es Salaam. He said Wednesday that he is not interested in being vaccinated.
The president of Tanzania stressed the voluntary nature of the vaccine and welcomed the arrivals of the doses. Hawa Bihoga, a Dar es Salaam resident, said that the president's decision to move in a new direction to fight the coronavirus had brought relief to Tanzanians.
After going well over a decade without reporting its confirmed virus cases, Tanzania has resumed reporting to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Wednesday, there were 858 cases.
However, critics of Tanzania's COVID-19 past position have warned for years that more people are infected.
As many African countries face an epidemic of infectious diseases, the country is working to get ahead. Hassan stated that they are working to import more vaccines to meet demand.
According to the Africa CDC, Tanzania's president has pledged to invest money in vaccine manufacturing. John Nkengasong (the agency's director) met with Hassan Tuesday. African countries are being affected by vaccine nationalism, where rich nations prioritise vaccines for their citizens. They are now accepting the need to have greater control over vaccine production.
Only Eritrea and Burundi are the only two African countries that have not yet started COVID-19 vaccines. Burundi's late President Pierre Nkurunziza was also criticized for downplaying pandemic. However, Burundi has stated that vaccines are not needed yet. Human rights groups have long criticized Eritrea as one of the most restrictive and closed-off countries in the world.
