Over 7 million people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 – Aceng
Ambassador Jaime Fernandez- Rua of Spain (3rd L) hands over the consignment of vaccines to NMS General Manager Moses Kamabare (M) and Health Minister Ruth Aceng (2nd R) in Entebbe on Wednesday. Photo | Paul Adude
What you need to know:
- Ms Aceng made the remarks while receiving a consignment of 2,944,800 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine donated by the governments of Spain, France, and Norway at the National Medical Stores (NMS) headquarters in Entebbe on Wednesday.
The Minister of Health Ms Jane Ruth Aceng has revealed that over 7 million people have been fully vaccinated as the country gears up its Covid-19 vaccination drive.
“We have so far vaccinated 14,054,059 people with the first dose while 7,924,329 are fully vaccinated and 20,758 have received booster doses. The arrival of these additional Covid-19 vaccines in the country is a step forward in minimizing the spread and effects of Covid-19,” she said.
Ms Aceng made the remarks while receiving a consignment of 2,944,800 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine donated by the governments of Spain, France, and Norway at the National Medical Stores (NMS) headquarters in Entebbe on Wednesday.
“Spain donated 1,951,200 doses, France 950,000 doses, Norway 43,200 respectively through the COVAX facility,” she said.
Ms Aceng said an additional 840,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson are expected to arrive in the country Thursday under the humanitarian buffer support grant through the COVAX facility.
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“Uganda has received a total of 6,864,960 doses of the Astra Zeneca, 1,600,000 doses of the Sinovac, 4,855,320 of Moderna, 11, 765,520 doses of Pfizer, and now 14,982,300 doses of Johnson and Johnson to support the mass Covid-19 vaccination exercise,” she said.
The Charge d’ affaires’ Embassy of Spain in Nairobi Kenya Mr Jaime Fernandez-Rua said the President of the Government of Spain, HE Pedro Sánchez, committed to donating 50 million vaccines in the first trimester of 2022.
“So far, before the end of the trimester, Spain has donated 55 million vaccines worldwide, of which 25 million were to African countries. Over 90% of Spain’s donations have been made through COVAX mechanism, which distributes the vaccines based on objective and epidemiological criteria, not on political preference or interests,” he said.
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Mr Fernandez- Rua said there is a need to avoid the temptation of “vaccine diplomacy” when it comes to the distribution of vaccines.
The government of Spain in December last year donated 1, 236,000 million Modena vaccines to Uganda.
