The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 1,204 front-line workers in Arua City have missed the first batch of the preventive Ebola vaccination rolled out by the Ministry of Health.
The nationwide exercise that commenced on Monday and concluded on Friday, was meant to be a preventive measure for the safety of the frontline workers in districts bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan where cases of Ebola outbreaks are increasing.
In the West Nile Region, Arua City, Yumbe, Obongi, and Adjumani benefited from the exercise.
However, Bridget Ntekaniza, a Nurse at Mulago National Referral Hospital, and a support supervisor of the vaccination exercise on behalf of the Ministry of Health in the West Nile Region, explained that although they had targeted to vaccinate 2,000 frontline workers, 796 were vaccinated.
Ntekaniza said the Ministry of Health has plans to roll out the activity to the entire population in the country but in a phased manner, with the second phase coming after eight weeks.
Komakech Salim, the Resident City Commissioner of Arua City, said only the police benefitted from the first phase of the vaccination, and the other uniformed personnel and non-medical frontline workers would be vaccinated in the second phase.
Dr Pontius Apangu, the Health Officer of Arua, stressed the importance of the preventive Ebola vaccination, saying unvaccinated health workers are likely to infect patients ten times more, further speeding the spread of the virus.
The Ministry of Health is carrying out the Preventive Ebola Vaccination exercise with emphasis on health workers, security personnel, immigration staff, religious leaders, politicians, lower local council chairpersons, and Village Health Teams among others in 14 selected districts along Uganda’s borders with the DRC and South Sudan.
Uganda was declared free of Ebola on January 11th, 2023 by the World Health Organization, after 114 days since the outbreak was reported.
During the epidemic, there were 142 confirmed cases, 55 deaths, and 87 recoveries.
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