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Team to probe church claims on tetanus jab

The Government has now formed a committee to investigate the controversial tetanus vaccine that has met strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the committee, to be constituted this week, will address the concerns raised by the Church.

While insisting that the vaccination exercise would go on in all the counties, the CS claimed the Church did not understand the usefulness of the medicine.

"This is medical science but we want to make sure that we bring all stakeholders on board and move as a united front," he said.

The CS was speaking to journalists at the launch of the national polio vaccination campaign in Karagita slums in Naivasha.

He called on all Kenyans to support the vaccination, saying it would greatly help the lives and health of women in the country.

The Catholic Church opposes the tetanus jab, claiming the medicine is laced with infertility drugs.

On polio, Macharia said efforts were being made to eradicate it completely from Kenya, as was the case with smallpox.

He said the country had made significant strides with the vaccination, adding that the last polio case was reported in the country 15 months ago.

"During this round of vaccination we will be targeting 8.8 million children aged below five years countrywide," he said.

myriad challenges

He said although the campaign has been smooth, the ministry was faced with myriad challenges as some communities were still opposed to the vaccination.

Macharia said that insecurity in parts of the country was also hindering the vaccination.

"We face stiff opposition from areas inhabited by nomadic communities, while other officers are not able to access some parts of the country due to insecurity," he said.

"We have gone the extra mile and agreed with our neighbouring countries to synchronise the campaign to kick off and end at the same time," he added.

Senator Harold Kipchumba said the Senate was working on bills that would address diseases such as polio.

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