COVID19: All Secondary School Students to be Vaccinated, Minister Aceng Announces Date

Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced that all secondary school going children will be vaccinated against Covid19 next month. 

In her update on the evolving Covid19 situation and new travel measures in the country, health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng announced that secondary school students will be inoculated with Pfizer vaccine doses on May 09.

“The Ministry will embark on vaccination of secondary school children to protect them from severe Covid19 on May 09, 2022,” said Minister Aceng.

“The Pfizer vaccine will be deployed to vaccinate this age group. Pfizer is a two dose vaccine, administered four weeks apart.”

More Highlights from Aceng’s Covid19 Update

• Uganda has has registered 164,118 confirmed cases of Covid19 infections and 3,596 deaths.
• Currently, there are two severely ill Covid19 patients on admission at Mulago National Referral Hospital, and St. Mary’s Hospital, Lacor. It is important to note that both these patients are not vaccinated.
• To-date, 15,268,403 people have received the 1st dose of any COVID-19 vaccine accounting for 71% of the target population of 22 million people. While 10,250,742 people are fully vaccinated accounting for 48% of the target population
• 59,542 people have received their booster dose. A breakdown of the vaccination coverage for the first dose among priority vulnerable populations shows good progress with following statistics (health workers – 127.7%; teachers – 90.2%; and the elderly – 80.3%)
• The Requirement for negative PCR test done within 72 hours pre-boarding for all incoming travellers is suspended with immediate effect for those who are fully vaccinated
• Requirement for negative PCR test done within 72 hours for all outbound travelers is suspended with immediate effect for those who are fully vaccinated, except where it is a requirement of the destination country, or the carrier airline.
• All in-bound and outbound travelers will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, except for travelers aged 5 years and below.
• Travelers with partial or no vaccination will be required to present a negative PCR test done within 72 hours of travel.
• Travelers below 5 years are not required to present a negative PCR test upon arrival or departure.
• Fully vaccinated individuals will NOT be required to wear face masks when they are outdoors provided there are NO crowds.