‘Prioritize prevention over vaccination to fight COVID’

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Governments should focus on managing COVID-19 through prevention, treatment and not vaccination, according to Eva Mugisa, a pharmacist based in Uganda.

Speaking at a virtual town-hall meeting titled “Mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations – what is the place for public health and informed consent”,  Mugisa said, it does not make sense to force people to go for vaccination given the fact that some have herd immunity and that their bodies have built God-given immunity.

“The people have a right to ask the hard questions on healthcare,” she said, adding, having a health procedure is something that should not be a mandate or forced onto anybody.

Her comments have come almost a month after the government of Uganda followed many others on the continent to fully reopen the economy but with numerous calls to the members of the public to embrace vaccination as a long-term measure of taming COVID-19.

Mugisa said, the recovery rate for COVID-19 amongst the patients has been recorded at over 90% in Uganda and many other countries which means “vaccination is not a silver bullet to fighting the disease” and that natural immunity has a lot to do when it comes to managing the pandemic.

She also said that the use of herbal medicine like Covidex have proven to be an effective treatment approach for several people who are not even vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

Meanwhile, as the world continues to battle with the effects of COVID-19, the emergence of new variants like Omicron is raising fears amongst activists that lockdowns, which they consider a violation of individual liberties, could be reinstated.

Activists are also concerned about the looming legislations in countries like Uganda that are considering punishing those that do not embrace vaccination and COVID-19 standard operating procedures.

“Democracy does not function without individual liberties,” said Julius Reuchel, an author and researcher from Canada.

Reuchel says, individuals own their bodies and so governments should not hide behind COVID-19 mandates to extend their hand onto the private affairs of people.

Winnie Kiiza, a former legislator in Uganda and leader of opposition in Parliament said, people have a right to understand the chemical composition of the COVID vaccines before they are injected into their body.

“The body is mine,” she said, “it should not be used as a testing kit or trial because the consequences that will emerge after vaccination are entirely mine.”

She also said, the government must first educate the public about the dangers of not being vaccinated before forcing them to go for it.

She cited examples of government officials in the district of Kasese and parts of Fort Portal in Western Uganda who have forced people to get vaccinated, before getting a service from their offices – which she said, is wrong.

She said, the vaccine itself is not a guarantee for not getting the disease which means, it should not be mandatory.

Kiiza insisted that people should be made to understand that observing COVID-19 SOPs entirely is for their own good.

“When you are prepared, you meet the challenge with a lot of energy,” she said.

Simon Ssenyonga, a lawyer and Winnie Kiiza argued that unfair legal regimes targeting those violating COVID-19 vaccine mandates should not be supported.  Ssenyonga said, the people should be given other options of managing the pandemic instead of government enforcing mandatory vaccination.

As of Feb.13, Uganda had recorded 162, 802 cumulative cases and 99, 684 recoveries. Test positivity rate was 1.1%, and had administered 15.6million dozes of COVID vaccines.