If you were thrilled with the free yellow fever campaign that the ministry of health launched last year leaving many to question the validity of the vaccine that was administered, surprise, surprise, the ministry is yet again to throw another pity party.
This time around, the ministry is to offer a free mass hepatitis B vaccination for Kampala and the surrounding districts of Wakiso, Mukono and Mpigi with the same objective of wanting to utilize the unused vaccines to prevent wastage because they are due to expire in six months.
It’s not like I am not overjoyed with the ministry’s charitable heart but my question is why us? Why is it Kampala and the neighboring districts that always receive nearly expired vaccines? Do we look like beggars to you for you to throw leftovers at us? Or are we living in a different world.
I truly believe that by the time you finish making preparations for that campaign; it will be one month remaining for the vaccine to expire. Who wants to bet that citizens won’t be administered with an expired vaccine?
Besides that, you have made assurances to purchase more vaccines to cover the second and third doses to all members of the population who will have benefited in the first place but on what basis are you making such assurances when you even failed to mobilize people in the northern parts of Uganda to utilize those vaccines in time.
And if you claim that the reason for the unutilized vaccines is because the northerners lost interest in the campaign, this brings us to the biggest question, what made them lose interest in something that is significant and lifesaving?
Nambooze Tahiya, Kampala
