The Health Ministry has dropped its earlier decision requiring all people showing up for COVID-19 vaccination to present National Identification cards.
The Health Minister, Dr. Ruth Aceng, says they have put in place new measures to identify the beneficiaries.
The minister’s announcement comes a few days after the Initiative for Social Economic Rights and Unwanted Witnesses petitioned court challenging the decision by the Ministry to use only National Identity cards to identify COVID-19 vaccine beneficiaries, saying this would leave out many Ugandans who have never received IDs or have lost them.
COVID-19 vaccination has commenced today at the Mulago National Specialized National Referral Hospital.
At the national level, vaccination will take place at health center IIIs and IVs, district hospitals and regional referral hospitals. The first priority groups include health workers, teachers and security personnel.
Dr. Alfred Driwale, the programme manager of Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization-UNEPI, says they have set up measures to avoid cases where non-Ugandans are vaccinated at the cost of Ugandans.
The health ministry is planning to vaccinate around 22 million people aged 18 and above. However, the country has so far received 964,000 vaccines donated by the Chinese and Indian governments.
