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NAIROBI. – Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan received her COVID-19 vaccine in public on Wednesday, in the most decisive signal yet of a break from the policies of her late predecessor who repeatedly dismissed the threat of the pandemic.

“I’m a mother of four, a grandmother of several grandchildren, and a wife, but most of all I’m the president and commander in chief. I wouldn’t put myself in danger knowing that I have all these responsibilities as the shepherd of the nation,” she said during a ceremony at State House in the city of Dar es Salaam.

The country’s prime minister, several ministers as well as prominent religious leaders were also vaccinated from the 1,058,400 doses received through the COVAX scheme.

The live broadcast of their vaccinations was in part to allay fears stemming from widespread disinformation about vaccines on social media and from religious and political leaders.

Before he died in mid-March, former leader John Magafuli repeatedly dismissed the seriousness of Covid-19 in his country and urged his citizens to “pray coronavirus away.”

Tanzania under the Magufuli regime made no bids for coronavirus vaccines, despite qualifying for the COVAX scheme. The government instead promoted non-pharmaceutical approaches such as herbal treatments and steam inhalation to combat the viral disease.

Vaccines are still optional in the country, even for essential and frontline workers. – CNN.