Africa-Press – Uganda. The Ministry of Health has said it will commence the Covid-19 vaccination of children aged between 12 and 17 today.
Speaking to Monitor yesterday, Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson of the Health ministry, appealed to parents to take their children for vaccination, saying this is essential for effective control of the pandemic and to guarantee continuity of learning.
“The mass vaccination will run from August 22 to September 3. It will be done in health facilities and community outreaches. Parents should take their children to vaccination points because this is a way of ensuring that they are protected from severe disease and death,” he said.
The mass vaccination comes amid declining numbers of Covid-19 infections and deaths. The decline has affected risk perception and exacerbated vaccine hesitancy even among people who are at higher risk of developing severe disease and dying.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its interim report on August 11 that the government should put more focus on the vaccination of adults and people with underlying health conditions, emphasising that it is “less urgent to vaccinate children”.
“The direct health benefit of vaccinating healthy children and adolescents is lower compared with vaccinating older adults due to the lower incidence of severe Covid-19 and deaths in younger persons,” the WHO said.
The agency maintained that the benefits of the vaccines far outweigh the risks such as heart inflammation and blood clots in all age groups. It also said countries can decide to vaccinate the children depending on their preference.
The latest data from the Health ministry indicates that the country last reported 3,628 Covid-19 deaths as of August 22.
However, health experts have warned that the decline does not mean the fight against the pandemic is over .
Covid infections
The average daily cases stand at 30, which is several times less than over one thousand cases that were reported per day in 2021 at the peak of the second wave of the pandemic.
More than 169,000 infections have been reported in the country since the outbreak in 2020.
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