UGANDA-The United States (US) has donated 1,684,800 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Uganda in support against the widespread disease.
The donation comes a month after the country received additional 2,919,150 doses of Pfizer vaccine from the US.
Combined with previous donations, the consignment of 1,684,800 doses of the Pfizer vaccine pushes the US donations to more than 11 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Besides the vaccine donations, the United States has provided further assistance valued at more than US$122M to aid in COVID-19 response in Uganda.
As Uganda is still trying to recover from the negative impacts of coronavirus to quality of life and economy wise, children have been major affected.
According to Al Jazeera Media Network, about 15 million pupils have not attended school in Uganda since March 2020 when classrooms were shuttered as COVID-19 swept the world.
However, Uganda has now ended the world’s longest school closure by ordering millions of students back to the classroom after a gap of nearly two years.
The donations arrive at the right time when schools are opening and Pfizer was approved for use in children who are 12 years and above.
The US Ambassador to Uganda, Natalie E. Brown stated that with Uganda’s economy and schools finally fully reopened, it was time for citizens to do their part to keep themselves and their communities safe through getting the vaccine shot.
“With almost 10 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses administered worldwide, there is clear evidence that vaccines are safe and prevent avoidable hospitalizations and death. We must all accelerate our efforts to end this pandemic. If you are not vaccinated, get the jab!” added Ambassador Natalie.
In addition to supporting Uganda’s national vaccine rollout, the United States has provided technical and financial support in data management, risk communication, health worker training, human resources support, supply chain strengthening and cold storage capacity.
In the United States, President Joe Biden gave an update that curbing the spread of the virus abroad was his strategy to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, the United States has donated more than 410 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to over 110 countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Somalia, Tunisia, Zambia and Malawi to name a few.
Liked this article? Sign up to receive our regular email newsletters, focused on Africa and World’s healthcare industry, directly into your inbox. SUBSCRIBE HERE
