Kitgum District Registers Low Turn Up for Second Covid-19 Vaccine Dose

There is a low turn up of people for the second Covid-19 vaccine dose in Kitgum District.

The Health ministry embarked on the second phase of the covid-19 jab on Friday last week. It targets people who had received the first vaccination in March this year and had already completed eight weeks.

However, in some of the vaccination centres in Kitgum district, the response has been low, almost a week later.

At Kitgum General Hospital, for instance, health workers had by Thursday vaccinated only 26 people who returned for their second dose. 

Grace Atim, a midwife undertaking vaccination at the facility says the turn-up of people is lower than expected.

Atim says a sizeable number of people had already received the first jab by March and were due for the second dose but haven’t turned up this week. At least 671 people have been vaccinated from Kitgum General Hospital since the vaccination was launched on March 17 in the District.

//cue in: “we have started…

Cue out:…finish their doses.”//

She called on those already vaccinated to embrace the second dose of the vaccine to boost up their immunity in fighting covid-19.

A health worker at Kitgum General Hospital on condition of anonymity said that she couldn’t return for the second dose immediately because they received communication that the vaccine works better at three months.

“We received communication earlier that for the second dose to boost the immunity well, it has to be administered at three months. So I’m waiting until next month,” She said.

The Acting Kitgum Medical Superintendent Dr Geoffrey Okello however says those who received the first jab and have now completed between eight to 12 weeks are eligible for the second dose of the vaccine.

“It’s a range from eight to 12 weeks, it’s a range of period. If you come and you are within the eight weeks, we jab you,” Says Dr Okello.

The district recorded a poor coverage of vaccine uptake among the locals in the past two months since vaccination was launched in March. Out of 3,120 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines the health department received from the Health Ministry, only 1,066 doses had been used by last week.

Meanwhile, there has been a high turn-up of people taking their first jab for Covid-19 this week at Kitgum General Hospital.

This comes as the government announced a spike in the second wave of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Atim says that unlike the past two months when few turned up for vaccination, the numbers have shot up significantly this week.

She notes that they have been recording a daily average of 30 people with the numbers seemingly increasing in the coming weeks.

//cue in: “there is some…

Cue out:…30 by now.”//

Rajab Amina, a resident of West Land A Parish in Central Division is among some of the people who flocked Kitgum General Hospital for the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine jab.

Amina says she had limited time for the jab when it was launched in March this year.

Luo

//cue in: “Gin ma oweko…

Cue out:…ma kumi yo.”//

William Okello, a civil servant at Kitgum District Local Government on the other hand says the negative reports that circulated on social media purporting negative side effects of AstraZeneca had discouraged him from taking the jab. 

Okello says he picked courage from his friends who got vaccinated and haven’t developed any side effects.

//cue in: “Through friends as…

Cue out:…been counselled before.”//

Kitgum District has registered 290 positive covid-19 cases since March last year out of 2,139 covid-19 test conducted. It currently has only one active covid-19 case.