Uganda will this month receive 647,010 doses of Pfizer vaccine from the World Health Organization COVAX facility to boost the country’s protection against COVID-19.
Pfizer requires storage capacity of -70 degrees centigrade, therefore, health care providers will need to store the vaccine either in dry ice for shorter stints or in specialized freezers once it arrives in the country.
Against that backdrop, the Ministry of Health has procured five refrigerated trucks of which, two have have arrived in country to aid the transportation of these vaccines.
The Next bunch of trucks is expected by end of July.
According to Emmanuel Ainebyoona, Health Ministry publicist, the trucks were procured with funds from GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation).
He said the trucks will be handed over to National Medical Stores for transportation of a variety of vaccines, including COVID-19.
As of Sunday, two of the five trucks had arrived in the country, and three others were still in transition, the ministry said in a short statement.
The trucks are equipped with cold chain equipment to ensure vaccine safety.
Uganda has vaccinated a total of 1,087,152 people. The target for Uganda, however, is inoculating at least half of the country’s population estimated at sh46m.
The COVID-19 vaccination program was launched in Uganda in March with the Astrazeneca vaccine. The first 864,000 doses of the vaccine were secured courtesy of the COVAX facility and arrived in the country on March 5, 2021.
The program is being done in a phased manner, starting with the most at-risk categories of people such as soldiers, health workers, teachers, the elderly and people with other chronic illnesses such as diabetes.