Uganda on Monday afternoon received a donation of 1,674,270 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from the United States.
This is the second batch of the vaccines that the U.S has donated to Uganda after the 647,080 Moderna doses delivery on September 6, bringing the total to 2,321,350 doses.
The consignment of COVID-19 vaccines which is also the largest Uganda has received to-date was handed over to the government by the United States Ambassador to Uganda Natalie E. Brown.
Commenting on the donation, Ambassador Brown, said the U.S shares the vaccines to save lives as part of America’s leadership in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to an end.
“To save lives and stop the threat of new variants, we must vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.” Natalie said.
The tranche of 1,674,270 vaccines is part of the 500 million Pfizer doses America has provided this summer to deliver to 92 countries worldwide, including Uganda.
Since the pandemic began, the U.S has provided approximately $111 million (nearly UGX 400 billion) to Uganda in direct assistance specifically to respond to COVID-19 through critical funding and technical support.
In terms of vaccine rollout, the U.S has provided technical and financial support in data management, risk communication, health worker training, strengthening supply chain and increasing cold storage capacity enabling vaccine uptake across Uganda.
Ambassador Brown urged Ugandans to educate themselves and loved ones about the importance of getting vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Making an educated decision to get the COVID-19 vaccine is a critical step toward protecting your health and that of your family and community because as we know, none of us are safe until we are all safe.”
The latest consignment is expected to boost the country’s plans of vaccinating around 22 million Ugandans before the country can be fully reopened.
The exercise has however been hit with a challenge of low vaccination uptake with only 1.7 million Ugandans having been received the jab since Uganda started the vaccination processes.
As at September 18, Uganda has administered only 1,777, 685 total doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
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