WHO probes deaths of five people in Lesotho after being vaccinated

**A resident receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty branded Covid-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site at Athlone Stadium, South Africa, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021/Getty Images**

The World Health Organisation has said it is sending a team to Lesotho in South Africa to investigate the deaths of five people allegedly after being vaccinated.

According to a report by SABC, the deaths occurred in Lesotho’s district of Leribe.

“We quickly assembled our local team of experts here to do the investigations, and then we are also supported by The WHO and the AU (African Union) to come with more experts to carry out the investigations,” the country’s Health Minister Semano Sekatle said.

The health minister however said that preliminary findings show that there is no definite link drawn between the vaccination and deaths and therefore could not find any reason to pause ongoing mass vaccinations.

Lesotho hopes to vaccinate 70% of its population by December this year.