Uganda to Receive 4 Million Doses of Covid Vaccines in September and October

Uganda will get 4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines this month and the coming one, the health ministry spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona said in a Thursday statement.

The doses will be acquired from Johnson and Johnson, Sinopharm, Moderna and Pfizer.

Since the vaccination exercise began, Uganda has brought in 2,799,920 doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Moderna.

1,697,748 doses had been administered as of yesterday. But the ministry says uptake is still poor and some of the vaccines might expire before being used in districts where they were sent.

Ainebyoona says this will also affect the country's position to acquire vaccines since global distribution is currently based on how fast a country uses doses already allocated. Doses are still limited, he said.

Uganda's strategy is to vaccinate 22 million people, translating to 49.8% of the population. The first phase will cover people with comorbidities that are 18 years and above, elderly aged 50 and above, health workers, teachers, and security personnel.

In the second phase, anyone 18 years and above will be immunized and, in the third phase, children below 18 will be immunized following recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee.