Africa-Press – Uganda. HEALTH|COVID-19
Uganda will obtain its first batch of COVID-19 vaccine by May or June 2021, the Government has announced. Priority will be given to front-line medical workers, the elderly, and people with existing health conditions, the Minister in charge of Information, Communion, Technology, and National Guidance Judith Nabakooba announced.
Nabakooba however said that as more vaccines becomes available globally, Uganda might be able to get them much earlier than June.
“However, we believe that as more vaccines become available globally, we might be able to get them much earlier than June,” the Minister said.
The announcement is set to shake shockwaves in the population given the fact that Uganda is now at the highest risk and at stage four of the virus. In the neighbouring Kenya, its ministry of health announced the first consignment of the Covid-19 vaccine is expected in Kenya next month, with the first beneficiaries being groups at high risk of contracting the virus.
Health workers, police officers, the elderly and teachers will be the first to receive the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine to be made available in the first quarter of next year, the government said on Wednesday.
Nabakooba also warned that the country had reached a critical Covid-19 stage.
“Our country has reached a critical stage in the battle against Covid-19. The number of people dying on a daily basis is far more than those that are being officially recorded. Ministry of Health estimates that there even more unknown Covid-19 deaths happening in the community before reaching the health centres. This is, therefore, the time when we all must wake up and take seriously the prevention guidance that has been given,” said Nabakooba.
She also noted that the number of critically ill people that needed oxygen on a 24-hour basis had exceeded the available capacity and she called upon everyone to stay alive until the vaccine arrives in June.
“Government spends about sh22m for every critically ill Covid-19 patient that is admitted on Oxygen. For the private hospitals, critically ill patients are spending about sh 5m daily in order to stay on oxygen” Nabakooba added.
