Distribution of CVO herbal tea, in Antananarivo, April 23, 2020. -

Alexander Joe / AP

While the race to obtain the doses of the Covid-19 vaccines is in full swing between most of the countries of the world, Madagascar is distinguished by its desire to be kept away from it.

Rather than vaccination, the country's president Andry Rajoelina reiterated on Saturday evening that he preferred his herbal remedy to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the Indian Ocean island.

“Personally, I have not yet been vaccinated and I do not intend to vaccinate myself,” he said in a televised address.

It is Covid Organics, known by the abbreviation CVO, this “miracle” herbal tea made from artemisia which is now also produced in capsule form, “which will protect me and my family”, he said. asserted.

The president is "not against the vaccine"

Andry Rajoelina, however, assured that he was not absolutely opposed to vaccination: "I and the Malagasy state are not against the vaccine."

Madagascar is in "a phase of observation of the vaccine, but there are too many side effects" for the moment, he estimated, without detailing which ones.

Amnesty International criticized this position during the day by denouncing a violation of the rights of Malagasy people to benefit from the best possible care.

For the NGO, "there is no evidence to suggest" that the CVO "is effective in preventing Covid-19 infections".

President Rajoelina also announced that his country was entering a second wave of infections, due in particular to the presence of the South African variant.

The last month, 2,483 new cases of contamination and 45 deaths have been recorded, said the president, saying that these figures were "nothing to worry about".

In one year, the country has recorded more than 22,000 cases and 340 deaths.

Madagascar had proceeded in April 2020 with a free distribution with great fanfare of herbal tea against Covid-19, interrupted when the confinement was lifted in October.

The president promised new free distributions Monday in the neighborhoods most affected by the pandemic.

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