Reported by
Faridah N Kulumba
The Ministry of Health has strongly denied allegations that the president of Uganda His excellence Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
In a press statement released by the ministry in response to media articles that was published in the Daily Monitor, titled Museveni ‘inner circles’ got COIVID-19 jabs- US paper.
The Monitor article further quoted an American news paper The Wall Street Journal that reported that “members of president Yoweri Museveni’s inner circles were offered vaccines from China state-owned drug maker Sinopharm.”
The Minister of Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero responded to these accusations during a press conference and stated that neither president Yoweri Museveni nor any of his ‘inner Circles’ has been vaccinated against COVID-19, as spread by the mentioned media houses, and that it was false and unfounded information with a potential of misleading the population and defaming the name of the president.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Health, and the government of Uganda, i want to categorically state that neither president Museveni nor any of his ‘inner circles’ have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as alleged by the Daily Monitor and the American news paper the Wall Street Journal.” said Aceng.
What really sparked the vaccination allegations?
Dr Aceng explained that there was the Sinopharm vaccine which were allowed into the country by last year December, but was specifically meant to immunize the Chines community working at manufacturing plant in Kapeka.
She said that the Government of Uganda upon request from the Chines Embassy in Uganda, authorized the importation of 4000 doses of the Chines Covid-19 vaccine for Liao Shen Industrial Park.
“These vaccines have not been used to any Ugandan other than the targeted population that is the Chines national living in Kapeka.” Acheng said.
Uganda received its first COVID-19 patient in March 2021, and since then the country has been battling with the pandemic. It has registered 40,243 cases, 14.515 recovered and 333 death.
Although there is no confirmed COVID-19 cure, physicians have worked tirelessly to balance the different available medicines to control the pandemic and many patients have recovered. And recently they launched home grown Covid-19 treatment made from nature raw materials got from Uganda.
Our AFP reporter talked to Dr Bossa Muhammad a medical doctor working with Kazuri Medical Aviation and cooperate health Entebe Airport COVID-19 front liner, and he also confirmed the ministers statement saying that they have never vaccinated any Ugandan and that they have never received any vaccine.
Previously Ugandan Government through the Ministry of Health announced that they were to receive AstraZeneca vaccines, how far have they gone?
According to the press statement which was released by the Health Minister Jane Ruth Acheng, revealed that Uganda will receive 400.000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Serum Institute of India by mid March 2021, 3.5 million doses of AstraZeneca from COVAX facility, a donation of 100,000 doses from the government of India, and 300.000 doses donated by The People’s Republic of China.
So Uganda National Drug Authority has only registered the AstraZeneca vaccine for the use in Uganda, but the ministry said that they are still in the process of registering other vaccines.
