Vocal Catholic doctor who was against AstraZeneca vaccine dies

Catholic doctor Stephen Karanja, the chair of the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association (KCDA) has died from unestablished cause.

Dr Karanja was very vocal against administration of the AstraZeneca jab and the entire vaccination process which he claimed was unnecessary.

The chair of the Catholic doctors lobby instead advised its followers to instead wear masks as the surest way of curbing the spread of Covid-19.

A consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr Karanja accused the government of not informing its people, especially those susceptible to Covid-19 infection that infection of the viral disease can be curbed through taking cheap and readily available preventive medication.

“The government could have saved a lot of people from suffering, from sickness, a lot of expenses and even death if they told people that they can take preventive drugs against Covid-19,” Dr Karanja stated.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) were quick to counter Dr Karanja’s statement.

“Our attention is drawn to the falsehoods and uncertainties being circulated about this vaccine as unnecessary, questionable or unsafe.

“We want to reiterate that the COVID‐19 vaccines are an additional critical tool of protection in our hands, in addition to what we already have and can do, including, the protective measures of washing hands, keeping distance and wearing the mask,” the Catholic bishops responded in a statement.

In a March 30 video recording making rounds online, Dr Karanja harshly criticised the Jubilee administration for imposing a lockdown in the five counties of Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Nakuru and Kajiado.

“This lockdown have their own issue, I think its a poorly thought medical approach to a pandemic. When you lock people down you don’t treat a disease. They (lockdowns) are not useful, they are dangerous and should be stopped immediately,” Dr Karanja stated.

Dr Karanja further linked the spiral in unemployment and destruction of the livelihoods of Kenyans to the lockdown blaming the depression experienced in the country to the shutdown of the five devolved units.

News of the doctors death broke on social media in the night of Thursday, 29 April when Fr Kinyua, a Catholic priest eulogised the doctor on his Facebook wall.