Uganda Gets 25,000 Doses of Ebola Vaccines to Prevent New Outbreak
14:06 29.02.2024 (Updated: 14:19 29.02.2024)
© Photo X / @MinofHealthUG
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Ebola is a "severe, often fatal illness" that affects humans and other primates, with an average fatality rate around 50%. The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was the biggest since the virus was discovered in 1976. Some African countries are still facing eruptions of the deadly disease.
The Health ministry of Uganda received on Wednesday 25,060 doses of Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Ebola vaccine for preventive immunization in 20 high-risk regions.
The two-dose vaccinations are expected to begin around May, the government said.
According to the WHO, there are two types of licensed Ebola vaccines, one of which is produced by J&J and is administered in two doses.
“[...] We have deployed two vaccines, targeted deployment for specific categories of individuals. The vaccines here are going to target health workers in the regions in particular districts. It gives us another layer of protection for people who are at very high risk of catching and getting infected,” Henry Kyobe, the Ebola incident commander at the Health ministry, was quoted as saying by the local media.
Kyobe continued, reportedly saying that the vaccines are designed to combat the Zaire ebolavirus strain. Uganda has experienced outbreaks caused by this strain, as well as the Sudan ebolavirus. In 2022, the Health Ministry reported that there were at least 142 cases of infection and 56 deaths in the latest outbreak. Health staff were impacted as well.
The official also reminded that the country wasn't rushing to vaccinate its citizens as soon as possible because this vaccination is preventive and not reactive.
“We have a primer dose and a booster dose. The preparation process for the vaccination takes a bit of time. Remember, we are not in a big hurry because this is preventive vaccination as opposed to reactive vaccination. The vaccines were donated on request by the Ministry of Health,” he said, as cited by the report.
In September 2022, Uganda declared an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Sudan ebolavirus species. After 42 days with no new cases reported, the country declared the end of the eruption on January 11, 2023.
The WHO provided 1,200 doses of Ebola trial vaccines to the East African nation in December 2022. The aim of the clinical trial was to combat the Sudanese strain.
