The Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary (MOH), Dr. Diana Atwine, says the ministry is set to open several vaccination sites at places in communities with a high population to ensure that all the vaccine jabs available are consumed.
Atwine says now that the country has enough vaccines, the safe thing to do is to extend them to places that attract large gatherings such as religious centers and markets among others.
This comes as the country expects another batch of 1.2 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson Covid 19 vaccine to arrive by the end of next month. The first batch of 196,800 doses procured by the government arrived last night.
Atwine says the government ordered nine million Johnson and Johnson single shot doses that should all arrive by January 2022.
Atwine explains that whereas the ministry is open to extending vaccination to the public, they are opposed to using bars because they remain closed and cannot attract large gatherings.
”Now the bars, the problem is they are closed, should we go and seat outside the door of the bar as long as there is some signpost, we welcome any idea that will bring vaccines closer to the people. we have to organise maybe in churches or markets where the population is.”
Atwine has encouraged the public to turn up in vaccination since people get only one shot for Johnson and Johnson vaccine, she says the advantage with this vaccine is that it is a single shot.
”All vaccines are safe and they are effective, it is just that johnson and johnson are a single dose and convenient. And the beauty about this one is we don’t even have to store them anywhere, we just dish out,I do believe it will be consumed faster, let people rush,we want them to rush we are getting more.”
Uganda has received 5,690,363 doses of various vaccines including AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinovac, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson.
Of these doses, 2.2 million have been administered, whereby 1,7 million people have got their first jab while nearly 600,000 have gotten two doses.
