Nurse, two teachers arrested for administering expired Covid-19 vaccines

Kayunga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police in Kayunga has arrested three people for allegedly charging and administering expired COVID-19 vaccines to residents and pupils.

The arrested include Anna Tumal, a nurse attached to Jonathan medical center in Kayunga, Rose Nakanyike, a teacher at Bright Light Primary School, Kisoga town council in Mukono district and Edward Ssemwogerere, also a teacher and owner of the same school.

Ssezibwa Regional Police Spokesperson Hellen Butoto says that the suspects were trailed from Kayunga where they had spent days administering the vaccines. The same group had imposed a charge of 3000 Shillings per jab, for those who turned up to be vaccinated.

The government has been providing COVID-19 vaccines at no cost to all as a measure to provide strong protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death among nationals. The vaccines are provided through designated health centres to the communities.

But Ssemwogerere, the school director told the police that he received the vaccines through her daughter, Zula Namubiru who works at Namagunga Health Centre III in Buikwe district. However, URN established that the vials of the vaccines had expired on February 28, 2022.

Butoto says the suspects were found with 138 doses of Pfizer, one doze of Sinopharm vaccines, and 39,300 Shillings collected from residents.

“We managed to get them carrying on the exercise at Bright Light School where 17 residents and five pupils had been vaccinated with the Pfizer Biontech vaccine. They have been returned to Kayunga district police station to support investigations,” Butoto said.

Mukono District Health Officer Dr Steven Mulindwa says they are currently administering only Johnson and Johnson vaccines and no other types of vaccines in the district.

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