Tunisian Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi on Tuesday accused dismissed Health Minister Faouzi Mahdi of making "populist and criminal" decisions after vaccination centers that opened exceptionally to receive young people witnessed overcrowding and chaotic scenes. Tens of thousands of young people flocked to the vaccination centers despite only a limited supply of vaccines available. The centers experienced violence and break-ins, with some doors being smashed, while others quickly closed their doors.
Mechichi had dismissed the health minister earlier on Tuesday amid mutual accusations regarding the performance in combating the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections and deaths, as well as the slow vaccination campaign. Mechichi stated in a statement, "I warned the minister about the possibility of oxygen shortages, but he did not make the appropriate decisions, so I took the decisions myself."
He added that calling all Tunisians for vaccination on the day of Eid al-Adha was a populist decision that could be described as "criminal and threatens the health of Tunisians and social peace."
Tunisians are complaining about a very slow vaccination campaign, with only 940,000 people fully vaccinated out of a total population of 11.6 million. A comment from the dismissed Health Minister Faouzi Mahdi, who is close to President Kais Saied, was not immediately available. Saied has been in conflict with Mechichi for months over a dispute regarding powers and political alliances.
