No Evidence Vaccine Refusal Led to President Deaths
The Claim
Every president that refused to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine was assassinated.
News posted on
Emerging story
Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated this week. He is not the only government leader to die since the pandemic began. Some note that he and a few other recently deceased leaders did not wish to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some social media users claim that every leader that refused to administer the vaccine was assassinated.
The other leaders mentioned were Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza and President John Magufuli of Tanzania.
Misbar’s Analysis
There is no evidence to show that Moïse refused the vaccine. While Haiti hasn’t administered the vaccine, there are reasons for this that have nothing to do with the late president. It is one of the world’s poorest countries, and is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. Their healthcare infrastructure is simply incapable of administering the dosage to the general population. Recent events have further destabilized the country, with an increase in violence and political instability.
It is true that Haiti refused to accept a free shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, they asked to receive any other vaccine. This may have been a response to other nations disallowing the AstraZeneca vaccine’s distribution for various reasons. This limited Haiti's options severely, as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have the only vaccines that don’t need to be refrigerated to be stored properly. Haiti does not have an adequate cold-storage supply chain. Still, this implies that the country is open to vaccines.
Further, Nkurunziza and Magufuli weren’t assassinated.
There was a coup attempt against Nkurunziza in 2015, but his ultimate demise resulted from a heart condition. He died in June 2020. Magufuli also died from heart disease, which he'd been known to have for over 10 years.
