Tetanus vaccine row escalates

Catholic Bishops in Kenya have reiterated their opposition to a controversial tetanus vaccine campaign, claiming their independent tests have proved the doses contain a hormone “that causes infertility and multiple miscarriages”, writes Fredrick Nzwili.

On Tuesday, the bishops tabled before the Parliamentary Health Committee independent results indicating the vaccine contained the Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (b-HCG) hormone, that ultimately causes infertility.

The WHO- and Unicef-sponsored vaccination campaign is targeting 2.4 million women. Dr  Peter Okoth, health specialist at Unicef Kenya country office supporting the child health immunisation programme, said: “These are serious allegations by the Church that the vaccine is contaminated. But the WHO and Unicef have serious quality-control mechanisms. They ensure  a product is of good quality before it is distributed in any country.”

The Government insists the vaccine is safe and the vaccination campaign will continue. But Bishop Paul Kariuki, the chairman of the health commission of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, called on Kenyans to shun the vaccine, claiming that the vaccination campaign is a disguised population-control programme.

Bishop Kariuki said the bishops – through church-appointed health experts – had tested the vaccines during a campaign in March this year at the University of Nairobi’s College of Health Sciences School of Medicine and a number of private laboratories in Kenya and South Africa. They made further tests in October.

According to the bishop the hormone b-HCG was detected.

Dr Okoth questioned the validity of the tests. “The tests by the Catholic Church are invalid because the Church tested the vaccine using machines used to analyse human samples. A vaccine is not a human sample. We also notice in test results, the samples were not declared,” he said. “I don’t think there is any laboratory in Kenya that has the capacity to test this vaccine.”

However, Dr Okoth confirmed that Unicef was investigating the allegations. “We are in contact with the Government and we are ready to offer any support,” he said. According to Kenya’s health ministry, about 550 babies died of tetanus in Kenya last year.