Health ministry calls 70 year olds for Covid-19 jabs

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has asked all persons aged 70 and above to go to vaccination centres for COVID-19 jabs.

In a Thursday evening joint press statement, Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said while they had initially planned to vaccinate the elderly starting from 50 years of age, they have so far acquired 964,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in stock which can’t cater for the more than 3.3 million persons of advanced age previously targeted. She said of the available doses, 700,000 are reserved for teachers and health workers.

As of today, the statement shows 7,920 people had received their first dose of the vaccine and that they have distributed 663,520 doses to all the districts across the country.

However, the vaccination has been met with skepticism with sections including health workers who have chosen not to take the jab with piling fears of suspected side effects that have caused some countries that were using the AstraZeneca to pause the exercise.

In Europe, some countries have suspended vaccination over cases of deep vein thrombosis, a condition associated with the formation of blood clots in the veins. 30 cases of people developing the condition after vaccination have been reported to the World Health Organization but analysis to determine the relationship is still ongoing.

In Uganda, the Ministry of Health says their surveillance teams have not yet captured any person who has developed serious side effects from vaccination and therefore called upon the population not to abscond as they extend to cover more priority groups having started with health workers last week.

The other groups including teachers and security operatives will be vaccinated concurrently with the medics.

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