A flood of vaccines for Tunisia as foreigners vie for influence

WHAT A DIFFERENCE a month makes. In July, during the Eid al-Adha holiday, Tunisia’s health minister opened covid-19 vaccine centres to all adults. The centres were blindsided by his announcement. Large crowds queued for hours, only to be turned away when doses ran out.The shambles was emblematic of the government’s failure to deal with the pandemic. By August 7th just 17% of Tunisia’s 12m people had received at least one dose. Though case numbers have fallen from their peak in July, the death rate, more than 10 per 1m people, ranks among the world’s worst. Hospitals are full.