Africa-Press – Rwanda. While appearing in front of both chambers of the parliament on Friday, December 3, the Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente made a case for mandatory vaccination.
He was backed by Dr. Daniel Ngamije, Rwanda’s Minister of Health and his counterpart of local government, Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi. Ngirente was presenting to the Parliament, in a joint session, the government’s actions relating to the Covid-19 vaccination program.
After his presentation which revolved around the update of the Covid-19 vaccination program, MP Frank Habineza asked him if mandating people to get in certain places to get vaccinated might not hamper their human rights.
Habineza was referring to concert attendants who are mandated to present their vaccination certificates as well as the case in Rusizi district where ‘some residents were denied entry in the market as they had not been vaccinated’. The Premier replied that it is everyone’s will to get vaccinated, just as it is the government’s duty to protect those who have been vaccinated.
“It is your right not to get vaccinated, but it is not your right to contaminate the disease to others who are safe and obedient to the health protocols. So, that is why we won’t allow people who are not vaccinated to go into large gatherings,” he said.
“We purchased the vaccines from the government’s budget, administered them for free, conducted awareness raising campaigns, so none has the right to hamper those efforts,” explained Ngirente, adding that the issue would be forcing people to be inoculated.
On this note, Minister Gatabazi shed light on the ‘mandatory’ vaccinations, stating that some of the cases were miscommunicated, exemplifying Rusizi district where ‘none was denied entry into the market because they were vaccinated’.
“It was just a vaccination campaign taking place at the market and physicians were looking for anyone at the market who did not get the jab to vaccinate them. So they asked them to get vaccinated at the entry of the market, so disagreements rose for few people and the youth volunteers, ending up calling that they were denied entry because they were not vaccinated,” Gatabazi recounted.
He added that for the concerts, attendants are so close as they are in amusement celebrations that respecting the guidelines might be tough, hence urging them to get vaccinated.
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