Arua District COVID-19 task force is stuck with more than 100,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
The vaccines that will expire at the end of this month, were part of the consignment that was delivered in December to the district and the city by the Ministry of Health during the first round of the COVID-19 accelerated vaccination campaign.
Sunday Cadribo, the Covid-19 vaccination campaign central supervisor for the Arua district has blamed this on the low uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among the population. He explains that the public is reluctant to embrace the vaccination campaign due to myths about vaccination, long-distance to the vaccination centers, among others.
Statistics from the district health department shows, only 40% of the targeted population, got the first and second jabs during the first phase of the vaccination campaign with 9% of older persons receiving their jabs.
Paul Bishop Drileba, the Acting District Health Officer says they have rolled out a mass Covid vaccination campaign targeting more than 81,000 people as a measure to utilize the vaccines that are about to expire.
Early this year, the World Health Organization-WHO report on vaccine uptake by region ranked Lango sub-region at the top with 111%, followed by Teso with 96%, Kigezi at 84%, Ankole, 79%, Kampala 75%, and north-central at 64%.
South Central, West Nile, and Bukedi were at 60%, Toro 59%, Bunyoro 58%, Bugishu 51%, Karamoja 50%, Acholi with 45%, and Busoga with 42%.
–URN
