Catholic church objection to polio vaccine alarmist

The Catholic Church in Kenya has tried to assume the role of the Opposition in checking the government with such zeal one becomes suspicious of its motives. But the church is selective in the areas in which it wants to hold the government to account; the just concluded polio vaccination, for instance, being one such area.

Towards the end of last year, the Catholic Church raised objection to a government plan to administer tetanus jabs in selected areas of the country and to a specific group of people. Through a media advertisement in October 2014, the government urged women aged between 15 and 45 years to go for the tetanus vaccination. At the time, it seemed a curious thing to do since tetanus is not, like cervical cancer, a disease that afflicts women only. Everybody is at risk of contracting tetanus which perhaps is what raised the red flag.