Uganda’s COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign has continued to receive slow turn up since being launched a month ago.
The ministry started the roll out of COVID-19 vaccination on March 10 starting with health workers and security personnel. However, some health workers and individuals that are in the eligible age bracket (50 years and above) to receive the jab aren’t in that much of a hurry to get their first injection.
To date, the ministry has vaccinated a total number of 276,306 people yet President Yoweri Museveni said that for other sectors like bars and events to be reopened, the ministry must have vaccinated at least 5 million people.
Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine has admitted to getting off to a slow start accusing health workers for going on protest demanding for their allowances before they can carry out the vaccination exercise.
“We have ‘projected’ everything and that’s one of the problems we have in this COVID-19 vaccination drive. Some health workers are demanding for allowances to vaccinate people. This has to stop,” said Atwine.
“We are having our engagement meeting with the leaderships of the different health professionals that are responding to the #COVID19 pandemic. This is a feedback meeting aimed at how the health workers, government and other stakeholders like WHO can better our response,” she added.
A month ago, Medical workers under their umbrella body, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), publicly demanded government to pay salaries and risk allowances for health workers, who were contracted to work in COVID-19 wards.
“Health workers, who are treating COVID-19 patients, already work under very stressful conditions and they are even removed from their families to avoid spread of infection. Therefore, their salaries and allowances should be paid promptly at the end of every month,” said Dr Richard Idro, the UMA president.