Malawi approves indemnity agreement for covid-19 vaccine introduction, DPP condemns failure to consult Malawians

Government has approved indemnity agreement for covid-19 vaccine introduction in Malawi which means the manufacturers will not be liable if harm is caused to Malawians

The approval has been made as many Malawians have been speaking against the vaccine saying they will not access it

According to a letter from secretary of health Charles Mwansambo addressed to secretary to treasury Malawi applied for participation for COVAX facility which is facilitating covid-19 vaccine introduction target 20 percent of the population

However democratic progressive party DPP says COVID-19 vaccine is shrouded in controversy and its safety especially to Africans is suspect

In a statement DPP spokesperson Brown Mpinganjira says the approval has been done secretly without consultations with Malawians.

“We strongly condemn this manner of dealing with lives, health and welfare of Malawians. We haave not been provided with exact and full terms of the indemnity therefore demand that such document must be made public for all Malawians to appreciate its purpose and import,” Mpinganjira

DPP says if government does not provide a satisfactory explanation to Malawians within the next 7 days the party will seek intervention of courts to protect lives and health of citizens

Responding Ministry of health says Malawi is in planning phase to procure and introduce covid-19 vaccine beginning with the elderly, front line health and social workers among others

Mwansambo says Malawi does not have covid-19 vaccine and it will take three months to have the vaccine in the country

He says the vaccine will undergo normal approval process by regulatory authorities to ensure safety of people

Therefore he denounced rumours that health officials are going to schools to provide the vaccine to learners

The secretary of health says once the vaccine is made available for Malawi the rightful information will be shared with the public so that they benefit from the intervention