Govt to replace yellow fever cards
What you need to know:
- Dr Atwine also said that besides having the card for travel purposes, they are conducting the vaccination to eliminate yellow fever disease which is endemic in Uganda
The Health Ministry has announced plans to replace the existing yellow fever vaccination cards with those having security features to address forgery concerns.
“We are going to phase out all those so-called fake yellow cards that have been issued from the Airport and where... Our cards are going to be with a security feature that you will not be able to forge,” Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry told journalists Monday while announcing the extension of mass vaccination exercise up to April 14.
“Whoever was not captured in our system, will not get our vaccination card, meaning they will face difficulty travelling abroad. This is the only window for you [to get authentic cards]. For this reason, we are giving opportunity to Ugandans for one more week,” she added.
Dr Atwine also said that besides having the card for travel purposes, they are conducting the vaccination to eliminate yellow fever disease which is endemic in Uganda.
“Yellow Fever is a serious viral infection that is spread to humans through a mosquito bite carrying the Yellow Fever virus. Yellow Fever vaccine is safe and effective,” she said.
According to information from the World Health Organisation, vaccination is the recommended method for addressing yellow fever because “there is currently no specific anti-viral drug for yellow fever, but early supportive treatment can cure it.”
The agency added that for patients who get severe disease, “death could occur within 7 to10 days.”
The Yellow Fever Vaccination campaign is being undertaken in a phased manner, starting with districts with high prevalence rates, according to the Health Ministry.
The Ministry said phase I of the campaign was launched in June 2023, covering 51 districts. The second phase started on April 2 and was planned to end on April 8 but the performance has been unsatisfactory hence the extension of the deadline by one week.
Dr Henry Mwebesa, the Director General of Health Services at the Ministry, said by midday Monday, they had only managed to vaccinate around 53 per cent of the 14 million people they targeted, signalling widespread hesitancy.
“Once you get the vaccination it is for life. If you have been vaccinated against Yellow Fever before, you do not need to get vaccinated again,” he said, questioning “elites” in Kampala and Wakiso on why they are running social media campaigns against the mass vaccination.
“This vaccine has been around for many years, why are we making noise now? The people who are decampaigning the vaccine have taken it in the past and we know you need to get the vaccination for you to travel outside. How come they don’t want you and me to get the vaccination? Let’s stop confusing Ugandans and let’s stop being selfish,” Dr Mwebesa said.
