COVID-19 vaccination to resume on Monday

Vaccination against COVID-19 will resume on Monday (June 28) after the country received a donation of AstraZeneca vaccines from France.

On June 16, Uganda received a batch of 175,200 AstraZeneca vaccine doses, and it is expecting 688,000 mores doses shortly.

However, some Ugandans, especially those due for a second dose, claimed they have since Monday been walking to various vaccination centres around Kampala, and could not find the vaccines.

As of June 23, a total of 834, 271 Ugandans had been vaccinated so far, with only about 40,000 of them having got a second jab.

The National Medical Stores (NMS) spokesperson, Sheila Nduhukire, promised that vaccines would be delivered to all centres as soon as possible. “Given its (Kampala’s) proximity, vaccines will be delivered by the end of this week.”

Nduhukire revealed that the distribution of vaccines started over the weekend and that trucks were still on the way to deliver them to districts.

“Drugs are delivered to districts, not to hospitals. Then, districts determine the rollout in consultation with the District Health Officers and the Ministry of Health,” Nduhukire explained.

The health ministry spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, confirmed that vaccination in Kampala will start on Monday, adding that each division will have eight vaccination centres within a walkable distance.

On June 18, President Yoweri Museveni locked down the country as a way of containing the surging COVID-19 infections and deaths. The rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths is due to the emergence of new virus variants from mainly the UK, South Africa, India, and Nigeria.

According to President Museveni, Uganda needs to vaccinate at least 4.8 million people before COVID-19 measures can be relaxed. However, the absence of vaccines and the banning of movements leaves many people, especially those due for a second jab, stranded.