Boycott tetanus jabs until its safety is addressed, nurses told

The Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) has called on its members to boycott the ongoing tetanus vaccination until its safety is addressed.

The vaccination, which is aimed at tackling tetanus among children, has received a setback after the Catholic Church told its congregations to boycott it insisting that it causes infertility in women.

Speaking in Kisumu, the union Secretary General Seth Panyako also called on the Government to suspend the vaccination immediately and institute an independent body to verify the safety of the drug being used.

“The questions being raised by the Catholic Church, who is major player in the health sector, are genuine and need to be addressed. The Government should institute an independent body to verify drug’s safety,’’ he said.

The Catholic Church insists that the vaccine contains an antigen – an agent that triggers antibodies that could cause sterility in women.

The Ministry of Health, however, says the vaccine is safe and has been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

“Should the vaccine display such grave effects, the nurses can be taken to courts by affected persons. We want to avoid this by boycotting it now. Why is the government in a hurry but there is no tetanus outbreak?’’ said Panyako.

This comes barely a week after doctors joined the call to suspend the jab until pertinent questions raised are addressed. The Chairman of Kenya Medical Association Elly Opot said medical professionals should be incorporated in the committee formed to ascertain the safety of the vaccine.