Distribution problems, hesitancy slow Uganda vaccination bid

GULU, Uganda (AP) — The light bulb hanging from the ceiling flickered on and off, infuriating the technician in this remote Ugandan town as he checked the refrigerators filled with vaccine doses to confirm they were still working.

If the power supply didn't stabilise, he said, he would have to requisition fuel and start the generator.

“It keeps going on and off, like a disco light,” said the technician, Tony Elong.

“This is our biggest problem. ... If I am not here and power is off for many hours, we are likely to lose the vaccines. It needs a timely response.”

Power failures are rampant in northern Uganda's Gulu district.

For Elong the problem is urgent; two fridges were destroyed by power outages this year. It's among the many logistical issues facing health officials as they expand COVID-19 vaccination into rural areas with the arrival of substantial doses in the previously vaccine-starved nation.

Gulu, home to 325,000 people, has given out about 9,000 doses, with only 2,795 people fully vaccinated.

The district had 30 AstraZeneca doses and 300 Chinese-made Sinovac ones as of September 23, an artificial shortage in a country with a growing vaccine stock of millions of doses.

In recent days, Uganda has received more than 2.2 million doses — including Pfizer and Moderna — from the United States, as well as 985,000 AstraZeneca shots from France, Belgium and Ireland.

A total of 11,978,840 doses — donations and purchases via the African Union — are expected in Uganda by December, President Yoweri Museveni said last week.

But Uganda's central storage facility near the capital, Kampala, can only hold 5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccines requiring ultra-low temperatures, and some rural areas like Gulu aren't equipped to handle either the Pfizer or Moderna shots.

As supply grows, officials are trying to whip up enthusiasm for vaccines in rural districts where many, citing safety fears, would rather wait.

John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters last week that while some African countries such as Rwanda and Zimbabwe are “doing well” in rolling out vaccines, others like Uganda are struggling, and the agency will be looking to community and religious leaders for help.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.