By Gilbert Akampa Kakurugu,
MBARARA
The Mbarara District Health Educator, Frederick Kamugisha has disclosed that Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccines at the district storage facility are due expiry due to low vaccine uptake.
Kamugisha made a revelation while addressing health journalist during a Media café organized by Health Journalists Network in Uganda (HEJNU) today at Oxford Inn in Mbarara City.
He attributed the low turn up to societal misconceptions on the vaccines. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), 69.9% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,13.37 billion doses have been administered globally, and 205,302 are now administered each day, 29.2% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.
In Uganda, from 3 January 2020 to 12 April 2023, there have been 170,515 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 3,632 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 25 March 2023, a total of 26,406,936 vaccine doses have been administered.
Kamugisha told journalists that some of the misconceptions which include people saying that natural immunity is better than vaccine immunity, quicker development of the vaccines without proper research and safety of the vaccines on alleged compromise of one’s fertility have put the ministry of health immunization programs and efforts down leading to the low uptake of vaccines.
He said that Mbarara district received 696 dozes of Faizer on 5th April, 2023 which are expiring on 5th May,2023.
Kamugisha is worried that a big number of this vaccine will be put to waste since it will expire in a period of one month due to low uptake of the vaccine by community.
He called upon the politicians, religious leaders, cultural leaders to take on the mantle of sensitizing their communities to go and get vaccinated.
He also noted that Mbarara district received 1,2800 doses of Johnson and Johnson on 16th June,2022 and these vaccines will also expire on 9th may 2023.
During the same training, Dr. Nelson Wandera the head of special pathogens Unit at Mbarara Hospital revealed that there were strategies put in place by Dr. Barigye Celestine the hospital director that brought a big turn up for COVID-19 vaccination. Some of these were inviting the religious leaders, political leaders, health workers around Mbarara both from private and government facilities to lead by example and get vaccinated first.
¶This was well done and very many people turned up during the first phase of vaccination.Other interventions included pharmacovigilance, provision of phone contacts to people to report adverse drug effects and this helped to create courage among people,¶ he said noting that they also tried to make sure the vaccines were available at all times but this was not achieved as planned because the country relied so much on donations.
Dr. Nelson told journalists that they also used publicity to create awareness and availability of vaccines and most people would flow in whenever media announced the availability of vaccines.
