Joint team to probe tetanus jab safety

The Catholic Church and the Health ministry will jointly test the tetanus vaccine at the centre of a row between them.

Director of Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri on Thursday said the 11 experts — three from the church, three from the Ministry and five members of the secretariat — held their first meeting in his office at Afya House in Nairobi on Wednesday.

“The experts will decide where the tests on the safety of the vaccine will be done and have identified three laboratories. Out of these, they are expected to choose one,” said Dr Muraguri.

The two camps agreed to set up the committee of experts to monitor the test following a closed-door meeting held on Monday between Dr Muraguri and Catholic Church Head John Cardinal Njue.

The row over the vaccine pits the Catholic Church, which insists it causes infertility in women, against the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation and Unicef. The ministry insists the vaccine is safe.

On Thursday, Dr Muraguri said after the experts are through with the testing, they will submit the results to his office and later hold a joint press conference to announce the results.

Women aged 15 to 49 years —the reproductive age — are the most vulnerable to tetanus infection.

This is because most infections are birth-related and occur among newborn babies or mothers, following unclean deliveries and poor post-natal hygiene.

DEATHS

At the same time, Dr Muraguri assured Kenyans that the tetanus vaccine used in the vaccination campaign is the same one administered in public, faith-based and private hospitals countrywide.

He was responding to claims made on Wednesday, and attributed to Kenya Medical Association chairman Elly Opot, that the vaccines were different.

Kenya is among 25 countries with high deaths due to tetanus infections, which the global campaign supported by WHO and Unicef wants to eliminate.