Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Natural Selection, Poetic Justice, Both?

Stephen Karanja: Kenyan anti-vaccine "doctor" dies from COVID-19:

A Kenyan "doctor" who became a vociferous opponent of COVID-19 vaccines has succumbed to the virus, weeks after saying the jabs were "totally unnecessary". Stephen Karanja, chairman of the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association, advocated steam inhalation and hydroxychloroquine tablets. He went on in different forums to advocate alternative treatments, including steam inhalation and a cocktail of drugs - including hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin, which have not been approved by the WHO to treat COVID-19.

Before falling out with the Catholic church in Kenya about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, Karanja often allied with the religious leaders to oppose mass vaccination campaigns. In 2019 he led opposition against vaccination of schoolgirls against cervical cancer, saying the jab against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) was unnecessary because it affected those "whose lifestyle involves irresponsible sexual behaviours" [probably many instances of pedophilia and rape, not consensual sexual behaviors]. In 2014, his association opposed the government's rollout of a tetanus vaccine targeting women, claiming it was a sterilisation campaign, despite local health authorities, the WHO, and the UN children's agency Unicef saying the vaccine was safe.

He was also a prominent anti-abortion campaigner and appeared in court in 2018 as an expert witness in a case in which the government was sued for withdrawing guidelines on abortion. The high court ruled that the government decision was unlawful and illegal. Though shunned by a majority of health professionals in Kenya [bravo to them!], the Catholic church recognised his association, but often hastened to add that Karanja did not speak for the Catholic church.

[Quotes around "doctor" because medical malpractice and authoritarian intransigence do not merit an honorific.]