The Belgian Ambassador to Uganda Rudi Veestraeten and his counterpart the French Ambassador to Uganda Jules-Armand Aniambossou have reassured the Ugandan population that the doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine that their respective governments (Belgium and France) have donated to Uganda are safe and Ugandans shouldn’t miss the opportunity of being vaccinated.
Both the Belgian and French ambassadors who were speaking at the official handover of 153,900 and 501,153 Astra Zeneca doses donated by the Belgian and French governments respectively to National Medical Stores on Thursday, revealed that the COVID-19 vaccines from Europe are first quality and are safe.
It’s not true that the covid-19 vaccines from Europe are second quality, they are all first quality vaccines and we would like to encourage Ugandans to get vaccinated. Ugandans that have received the Astra Zeneca vaccine are also welcome to travel to Europe. We hope that more covid-19 doses will help in the quick reopening of schools through vaccination of pupils in primary school and students in secondary school, tertiary and at University. The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on students at primary and secondary has been particularly severe. Young people have not been to school for over 18 months and distance learning is hardly possible due to the lack of equipment and internet connection, Belgian Ambassador Rudi Veestraeten revealed.
On his part, the French Ambassador to Uganda H.E Jules-Armand Aniambossou revealed that the French government is committed to working with the Ugandan government to ensure that the covid-19 doses reach those in need.
The French donation of 501,153 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine is yet another gesture of solidarity towards Uganda in the fight against covid-19. The French government is committed to donating 60 million covid-19 vaccines to developing countries by the end of the year, work is in progress. We would like to appeal to the Ugandan government to ensure that the doses reach those in need and the French government is available to work with you to ensure that the doses reach those in need, Jules-Armand Aniambossou revealed.
Meanwhile, National Medical Stores General Manager Moses Kamabare has warned as per President Museveni’s National address on Wednesday that Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Chief Administrative officers (CAOs), and District Health Officers (DHOs) will be held responsible if covid-19 vaccines expire at the different health centers.
Uganda has more than enough people who are ready and willing to take the vaccines. However, if any covid-19 vaccine expires at any health center or government hospital, Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Chief Administrative officers (CAOs), and District Health Officers (DHOs) will be held responsible and will lose their jobs, Kamabare reiterated.
On her part, State minister for primary health care, Hon. Margaret Muhanga thanked the governments of Belgium and France for donating153,900 and 501,153 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine to Uganda through bilateral arrangements and the COVAX facility.
This is the 10th and 11th donation of COVID-19 vaccine Uganda is receiving. The Astra Zeneca vaccines that we have received will be mainly to help cover second dose clients as we plan to administer newly acquired vaccines to the priority population groups who have not received their 1st dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. To date, Uganda has received a total of 2,153,140 doses of the Astra Zeneca, 300,000 doses of the Sinovac, 647,080 of Moderna, 1,674,270 doses of Pfizer, and now 655, 053 additional doses of Astra Zeneca to support the mass COVID-19 vaccination exercise, Minister Muhanga revealed.
Minister Muhanga added;
Uganda has 22 million people above 18 years who should be vaccinated with people above 50 years over 3.3 million, those with comorbidities over 500,000, and the school-going population in secondary school (S.6) and university over 300,000. Our emphasis is also on people in the armed forces, health workers, and teachers who interact with many people and need to be vaccinated. The mass vaccination of pupils in primary school and students in secondary school, tertiary and university will help us in gradually opening up schools. The 1.6 million doses of Pfizer vaccine will only be rolled out in the Kampala Metropolitan Area that has a population of 5 million people (Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono) because upcountry hospitals and Health centers don’t have storage facilities of -70 degrees.
