UK underscores its role in fighting pandemic as Uganda prepares to receive Covid-19 vaccine

The UK government has underscored its role in working hard to bring to an end, the Coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking ahead of the first batch of COVAX vaccine that is set to arrive in Uganda tomorrow, Kate Airey, the British High Commissioner in Uganda said the UK was one of the first countries to back the vaccine and has committed £548,000,000 to ensure global access to vaccines.

“I am proud that the United Kingdom is one of the biggest donors to COVAX, securing over one billion doses for the most vulnerable people in countries around the world including Uganda, and delighted that the first vaccines will arrive in Uganda tomorrow,” Airey said.

“The UK is supporting COVAX because we want to be a force for good in the world and because we need a global solution to a global pandemic. Next week, thanks to UK aid and other donors support, people in Uganda will start to be vaccinated; I hope this will be a major step forward to ending the pandemic.”

Uganda will tomorrow Friday receive an initial batch of 864,000 Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccines through the COVAX equitable access facility.

The 18 million doses of vaccine for Uganda are among the first of more than a billion doses going to developing countries this year through COVAX.

COVAX is explicitly designed to work for high and middle and low-income countries and to ensure that doses are allocated equitably at a global level.

COVAX began to deliver vaccines to lower-income countries on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 and in total, more than a billion COVID-19 vaccines will go to up to 92 developing countries, with targets in place to help those countries vaccinate the most vulnerable by June 2021.