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Uganda has received 25,060 doses of Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccinations, signaling a proactive step in preventing Ebola outbreaks. The vaccines will be deployed in high-risk districts for health and frontline workers.

With the receipt of 25,060 doses of Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccinations, the government has made a major advancement in its preventive measures amid continuous efforts to combat the threat of Ebola.

This shipment’s arrival signifies a proactive effort to protect public health and stopping the spread of Ebola within the community, and it represents a turning point in the country’s preparedness against the deadly illness.

According to Lt Col Dr Henry Bbosa Kyobe, who spoke on behalf of Director General of Health Service Dr Henry Mwebesa, during the doses’ receipt on Wednesday at the Warehouse of National Medical Stores in Kajjansi,the arrival of long-awaited J&J Ebola vaccines also signifies higher level of preparation and mitigation in case of any outbreak.

Dr. Kyobe stressed the seriousness of the Ebola threat in light of the recent arrival of 25,060 doses of Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccines, saying, ‘Ebola is a very serious disease with limited options of care and in addition to death it causes a lot of disruptions as we saw here two years ago when we had an Ebola outbreak.”

“We continue to be aware of the unpredictability of Ebola outbreaks, emphasizing the inherent risk they present. Furthermore, even though they work well, our present mitigation strategies can cause disruptions. But in the last two years, we’ve made great progress in strengthening our defenses against Ebola, most notably with the arrival of vaccines. Two vaccine shipments have reached our country thus far; the first one came in 2018 in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These vaccinations have been carefully distributed to focus on particular high-risk subsets of our population.”

According to Dr Kyobe, to ensure availability of an Ebola vaccine, the Ministry of Health actively collaborated with partners, allies, and stakeholders globally prior to the most recent Ebola outbreak. “We are incredibly appreciative to Johnson & Johnson and other companies for their kind offer to give vaccines to us. Around May 2022. After starting two years ago, this initiative was made and finally has yielded.”

Reactive vaccination takes place during an outbreak however as of right now, no one can assert that an Ebola outbreak is underway. To make sure that Uganda is not taken off guard when the time comes, The ministry of Health is constantly making preparations. “Even if we might not be able to stop the virus from spreading from the wild, it is still our duty to lessen its impacts, which we can do by taking steps like using the vaccines that are now on the market.”

He stressed, “We are appreciative of Johnson & Johnson for providing over 250,060 doses, which are administered in pairs; primer dose 8 weeks after a booster dose,” he said. The vaccines received are to be deployed in 20 districts that are high risk and when the campaign commences the ministry of Health will reveal them and people who will be vaccinated are health workers and frontline workers.

Abeda Williams, Director of Scientific Affairs at Johnson & Johnson, expressed her appreciation for the chance to provide Uganda with the vaccination doses. She reaffirmed the company’s dedication to promoting global health efforts and conveyed her trust in Uganda’s ability to efficiently provide vaccines to safeguard its populace from the potential Ebola threat.

The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University will also be in charge of the immunization program. Dr. Andrew Kambugu from IDI, conveyed his delight with Uganda’s capacity to start vaccination campaigns, saying, “We are happy that Uganda can now start vaccination programs, and the reason we are here is that the Ministry of Health requested that we be the implementing partners.” This indicates that we have been given the responsibility by the Ministry to guarantee the best use of this priceless asset.”

As the vaccination programs nears the doses donated will be stored at National Medical Stores