The Ugandan government has begun administering Covid-19 vaccine booster shots to priority groups as the country reports a surge in infection numbers, reported CGTN Africa.
The Ugandan Health Ministry spokesman, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, on Monday said the priority group eligible for the booster shots includes people aged 50 years and above, health workers, teachers, religious leaders, cultural leaders, drivers, and conductors of public service vehicles, and security personnel. The list also includes boda-boda riders, market workers, vendors, and bar and nightclub workers.
The turnout for receiving the booster vaccine shot was high at Kampala Capital City hall vaccination center as both the elderly and youths turned up to get the vaccination.
Dorothy Nalubega, a senior nursing officer at the Kampala vaccination center, said over 50 people were given the booster jab.
“We had rain disruptions earlier on, but now we have settled and over 50 people have got their booster jabs here,” she said.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni got his Covid-19 vaccine booster doses earlier this month. He went on to urge the public, especially those above 50 years of age, to get a booster dose in order to protect themselves against the adverse effects of COVID-19.
The country had administered over 12.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses out of its target of 22 million people as of January 15, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Health.
On Friday, the Ugandan government announced it will destroy over 400,000 doses of expired Covid-19 vaccines. Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said the vaccine doses remained unused and has expired.
Last week, the government also reopened schools after nearly two years of closure – the longest school shutdown in the world. Some 15 million pupils were out of schools in Uganda since March 2020 when the first coronavirus case was reported in the African continent and the Covid-19 pandemic led to the shutdown of schools. All students would resume classes a year above where they left off.
