A rumor circulating recently claims that the tetanus vaccine is expired and could have adverse effects on women. Health specialists confirm that this information is false and unfounded.
The rumor, spread orally in the city of Bangui and its surroundings, claims: “The tetanus vaccine administered to women during the vaccination campaign is expired.”
However, this claim is baseless according to the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Central African Republic.
Dr. Nebanga Valentin, a physician in the Health Promotion Service at the Ministry of Health and Population, debunks this information: “This is false information; we do not use expired vaccines for immunization. The maternal and neonatal tetanus vaccines used in this campaign are still valid.”
Augustin Dibert, Health Promotion Advisor at the WHO Central African Republic, explains: “I am surprised by all the interpretations surrounding the tetanus vaccine. What government would use expired vaccines to inject into its population? No, I believe people have not thought this through. Moreover, the Ministry does not act alone but always works with its partners. I think people are speaking too hastily, and it is not right.”
According to Pulchérie Clémentine Aboryot, a midwife at the Mother and Child Center: “When a vaccination campaign is launched against a disease, it is not to harm Central Africans but to immunize them against diseases. Note that tetanus is a deadly disease, which means that if girls and women of childbearing age are not vaccinated, they will not be spared from this condition.”
The tetanus vaccine is designed to prevent tetanus, a disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. The vaccine is effective, and its side effects are generally mild.
This rumor emerged following the official launch of the tetanus vaccination campaign, which took place in Boali on Wednesday, November 7, 2022, targeting women of childbearing age (14 to 49 years). The campaign ran from November 10 to November 15, leading people to believe that the vaccines might be expired and harmful to those vaccinated. After verification with health specialists, this information is false.
By Princia Florence Yalla / Romaric Théophile Gbomandji, AFC
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