Church's concerns on tetanus jab valid

The leadership of the Catholic Church has renewed its objection to the tetanus vaccination programme which targets women in a given age bracket in specific counties.

Claiming an ulterior motive, none other John Cardinal Njue urged Kenyan women not to go for the jab usually administered during pregnancy vowing that the church would "fight for the dignity of Kenyans."

The church's initial opposition to the tetanus jab last year compelled the Government to set up a taskforce to investigate allegations that the vaccine was laced with a birth control substance.

That task force seemed to have postponed the problem for some time because the church is up in arms again.

Conventionally, the Catholic Church opposes the use of contraceptives as a means of birth control.

The Government has on several occasions tried to downplay the concerns raised by the Catholic Church terming them misleading and ignorant.

Independent tests that were carried out after the Parliamentary Committee on Health ordered a probe in December last year were far from reassuring.

It is this lingering doubt that is bringing about the current friction.

The Government provided 59 vials of the disputed tetanus vaccine for testing, out of which three tested positive for the hormone. That is less than 6 per cent.

We have argued here before that given the deep mistrust that surrounds the whole vaccination exercise, it will be in the interest of all concerned parties if the vaccination drive is shelved until the issues are resolved.

It is notable that public trust has been severely undermined by the mystery of a birth control hormone and the exercise is likely to continue meeting resistance.

Concerns raised by the Catholic Church have merit and should not be treated disdainfully.

At the moment, it would be better for the Government to stop further plans to administer the vaccine and when there is need to, it ought not target women between 15 and 45 years because everybody is susceptible to tetanus.

This is one way of lessening the suspicion that has clouded the administration of the jab.