Prophet says AstraZeneca blood clot reports vindicates his Covid-19 vaccines fears

Lilongwe-based Prophet Amos Kambale has said he has been vindicated for advising his followers not to accept the Made-in-India coronavirus vaccines,  AstraZeneca which is a donations from the Covax facility, a UN initiative to ensure Covid-19 vaccine access to the world’s most vulnerable, saying the reports that Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended the  vaccine while the European Union’s medicines regulator investigates whether the shot could be linked to a number of reports of blood clots lends credit to his fears.

Denmark announced a two-week suspension on Thursday following a number of reports of clotting in the country, including one fatal case. Iceland and Norway followed suit, but did not say how long their suspensions would last.

Thailand on Friday became the first Asian country to halt the use of the jab over safety concerns.

Austria and Italy, meanwhile, have said that they will stop using certain batches of the vaccine as a precautionary measure.

Prophet Kambale – who is the founder and overseer of Life International Church (LIC) –   maintains  that the Made-in-India coronavirus vaccines which Malawi has rolled out is not safe.

“The vaccine is unsafe and a threat to the people,” he insisted.

Malawi government has, however, have defended their use of the shot and said they will continue their  inoculation campaigns.

Both President Lazarus Chakwera and Vice-President Saulos Chilima have urged tMalawians to disregard myths surrounding the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine, saying scientists have certified it safe and effective.

Chakwera said: “No one should fool or lie to Malawians about this vaccine; scientists have proven that it is safe and effective. As a show of good faith, I volunteered to get vaccinated so that you can see the vaccine is safe.”

Chilima said he and the President decided to be the first to take the vaccine to inspire Malawians to do the same, especially when it is rolled out on a larger scale.

He said: “According to the experts, the main reasons for the choice of this vaccine include the fact that AstraZeneca is safe to use with minimum reported adverse effects following immunisation.

Chilima stressed that the vaccination is “voluntary.”

Health rights activist Maziko Matemba, who also got vaccinated in Mzuzu, said people should get the right information from health experts and ignore rumours.

AstraZeneca has said the vaccine has been studied extensively during Phase 3 trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the shot is “generally well tolerated.”

The Ministry of Health is targeting to immunise 11 million people, representing 60 percent of the Malawi’s critical population.

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