Zimbabwe’s health ministry on Tuesday lamented that the death toll from a measles outbreak has risen to 700. It attributed the emergency to vaccine hesitancy propagated by apostolic church sects that forbid vaccinations and medical treatments, prompting experts to call for strict vaccine mandates.
With most fatalities occurring amongst unvaccinated children aged between six months and 15 years, Dr. Johannes Marisa from the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association told the Associated Press that “because of the resistance, education may not be enough so the government should also consider using coercive measures to ensure that no one is allowed to refuse vaccination for their children.”
His opinion was seconded by Tinashe Mundawarara of the Zimbabwe Health Law and Policy Consortium, who opined that “compulsory immunisation has to be well planned and would ensure that the best interest of the child is really considered.”
Zimbabwe had 685 deaths from Measles this year.
— Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) September 4, 2022
Most of the deaths are in Manicaland from unvaccinated kids belonging to religious sects which refuse to have these kids vaccinated.
The ZANUPF regime keeps quiet allowing these kids to die because it wants religious votes!
TRAGIC pic.twitter.com/jHxBxfsFpg
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it is “deeply concerned” with the surging rates of infections and deaths due to measles in Zimbabwe and has deployed a rapid response team to strengthen the government’s mass immunisation campaign.
Likewise, French medical non-profit Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) asserted that “no child should die of measles” and vowed to aid the government’s efforts to vaccinate children against measles in the Manicaland province, where the outbreak was first reported five months ago.
The country has recorded nearly 6,500 infections since April, with the disease claiming the lives of 37 children on September 1, its highest single-day death toll. In this regard, Health Ministry spokesperson Donald Mujiri stated that the government is “rolling out a countrywide vaccination blitz” to deal “with rocketing cases of measles.”
Prevent children from measles!
— MSF_Zimbabwe (@MSF_Zimbabwe) September 2, 2022
Get them vaccinated.#Ongoing: MSF teams are in Buhera district, Manicaland province supporting @MoHCCZim measles vaccination campaign. pic.twitter.com/Bjj1N5IjFh
The government has repeatedly attributed the rapid spread of the infection to religious gatherings following the lifting of the COVID-19 lockdown, which “led to the spread of measles to previously unaffected areas.” Health Secretary Jasper Chimedza on August 14 reiterated that the infection “spread nationwide” following such gatherings that were attended by persons “with unknown vaccination status.”
In fact, these claims have been echoed by the World Health Organisation’s Zimbabwe representative, Alex Gasarira, who stressed that “when a number of unvaccinated children rises beyond critical thresholds,” measles outbreaks are inevitable. He added that this has happened in the African nation due to “several factors,” such as communities “who are not comfortable to have their children vaccinated and disruption [of] vaccination services because of the recent COVID-19 pandemic.”
The #antivax movement causes death. In Zimbabwe, a measles outbreak has killed nearly 700 children. Vaccines don't cause #autism. #GetVaccinated. https://t.co/UrgNfzbnSR
— Jack Pitney (@jpitney) September 6, 2022
Against this backdrop, Zimbabwean Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa had earlier said that the government is undertaking outreach efforts and engaging with religious leaders to raise awareness and counter vaccine hesitancy, without clarifying whether a mandate will be imposed or not.
The administration claims that certain Christian sects are against vaccines and instead rely on prayers and healing techniques to deal with diseases.
Measles is one of the most contagious air-borne viral diseases and causes rashes, fever, and cough. It is highly fatal for unvaccinated and malnourished children. Scientists estimate that over 90% of the population needs to be immunised to curb its spread. With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting routine immunisations the world over, UNICEF in July issued a “red alert” for child health, stating that over 25 million children face increased risk.