Minister decries low Covid vaccine uptake, resistance among elderly

The minister of state for primary healthcare, Ms Margaret Muhanga has decried the low Covid-19 vaccine uptake and resistance among the elderly people in Uganda as government prepares to fully re-open the country.

Ms Muhanga said government is targeting to vaccinate 3.3 million elderly people by January 2022 when government hopes to reopen the economy following the virus-induced lockdown announced in March last year. However, less than a million elderly people have been vaccinated so far, according to the minister.

“We have noted that people above 50 years old are not taking the vaccine as expected and yet they are the very vulnerable people and susceptible to dying from Covid. So we're asking all people above 50 to kindly go to all our health centers and get vaccinated against Covid,” she said.

She said the low uptake worries government since they may not be able to reach the targeted 4.8 million Ugandans government plans to fully vaccinate by January.

“For us to fully open the economy in January we must have at least 4.8 million people fully vaccinated. We have enough vaccines in the country. Right now, we have four million vaccines afloat. Let people go and uptake these vaccines. This low uptake worries all of us,” she said before adding that government expects additional 3.5 million doses of Pfizer next month.

"So if we can finish these 4 million doses, then 3.5 million doses, we are getting Johnson & Johnson which is just one dose then by January we'll have vaccinated over six million people and then we're able to open everything, including bars,” she said on the sideline of a free polio immunization campaign of children aged five and below at Rotary hospital in Mukono District.

She asked places of worship, including churches and mosques to have vaccination centers so that many Ugandans get vaccinated.

The retired clergy and the chaplain of Uganda Martyrs Namugongo Rev. Valentine Okello said the elderly people need transport facilitation to get to vaccination centers.

"The issue of extending vaccines to worship centers will be a help to those who go to churches and mosques but will leave out others who don't go to worship centres for prayers," Rev.Okello said.

The Mukono diocese bishop, William Ssebagala urged all Christians to get vaccinated to be protected from covid-19.

"Getting vaccinated is for the good health and helps you to protect your families too," Bishop Ssebagala said.

He said people should continue following the SOPs to protect themselves from contracting covid19.

Polio vaccine

According to the minister, government estimated about 8.7 million children aged five and below due for vaccination against polio.

“We declared an outbreak of polio in the country and so we're asking parents, care givers, guardians, community leaders and civil leaders, among others to go to the villages and mobilize people to take their children aged five and below, for polio vaccination,” she said.