Dismay as DR Congo ‘offers its citizens’ for coronavirus vaccine testing

The Democratic Republic of Congo has said it will offer its citizens for any future testing of a vaccine against the coronavirus.

This was made public by the head of the country’s taskforce against the pandemic on Friday.

The head of the national biological institute, Jean-Jacques Muyembe told journalists that “We’ve been chosen to conduct these tests.”

Muyembe adds that “The vaccine will be produced in the United States, or in Canada, or in China. We’re candidates for doing the testing here.”

But the announcement has sparked outrage in DR Congo with citizens accusing the government of attempt to use them as guinea pigs.

But according to Muyembe such a clinical trials on citizens could begin in July or August.

Muyembe who himself is a virologist said “At some point, COVID-19 will be uncontrollable.”

“The only way to control it will be a vaccine, just like Ebola. It was a vaccine that helped us end the Ebola epidemic.”