An official from the
Ministry of Health has assured Ugandans of the safety of the malaria vaccine
that will be rolled out in the country on April 2nd.
On March 7th, the
Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero officially received and flagged
off the distribution of 2.2 million doses of malaria vaccines to 105 districts
with a high to moderate malaria prevalence.
However, as always,
vaccine hesitancy, the reluctance or refusal to receive vaccines despite their
availability, which the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies as one of
the top ten threats to global health, remains a pressing challenge that
threatens progress in many immunization exercises.
Silver Kasozi, an
officer at the Malaria Control Division of the Ministry of Health, assured
parents whose children are eligible for the vaccination that it is safe because
it has been researched, tested, and is already being used in many African
countries including Kenya.
//Cue in: “It is safe…
Cue out: …the Kenyan
mothers?”//
Vaccine hesitancy in
Uganda is influenced by several factors such as misinformation, about vaccines
including false claims about side effects and conspiracy theories linking
vaccines to infertility or government control.
Other factors are
cultural and religious leaders who discourage vaccination, claiming it
contradicts spiritual or traditional beliefs. Some people are hesitant to get
vaccinated or have their children vaccinated following adverse reactions, real
or exaggerated, causing anxiety in some people. For others, it is just the
complacency that certain diseases are no longer a threat, hence, no need to
vaccinate.
However, Kasozi
explained that sometimes, side effects of vaccines are a result of poor
handling, and not the vaccines themselves.
He appealed to the
community, health workers and the vaccine handlers to understand how to handle
the vaccines and administer them well.
//Cue in: “Sometimes
issues to…
Cue out: …as many
challenges.”//
During a Symposium
themed: “Creating a Collective and Sustainable Sexual and Reproductive Health
Rights for Women and Girls in the face of Climate Change" held in Arua
City on March 3, 2025, a nurse expressed fear of the possible effect of extreme heat
on vaccines.
Sr. Sally Andezu,
explained that in cases where the cold chain system breaks on the road, the
extreme heat being experienced might likely affect the vaccines.
“We have our vaccines
which are very sensitive to light and heat so once this is delayed or once the
weather affects this…it means the vaccine is already tampered by heat, and yet
cold chain is supposed to observed right from the processing center to the
consumer,” Andezu said.
“I talked to a
colleague in Adjumani who was telling me that temperatures there are within 36
and above…supposing a health worker wants to go for an outreach, how safe are
our vaccines?” she asked.
However, Kasozi
downplayed the effects of heat on vaccines, saying all districts have vaccine
carriers, and vaccine officers that keep vaccines on transit safe during
outreaches.
//Cue in: “Every
district has…
Cue out: …that we
use.”//
He added that in case
the weather is extreme and highly likely to affect the viability of vaccines,
the responsible officers should assess the temperatures before dispatching
vaccines.
//Cue in: “in the
case…
Cue out: …that we
serve.”//
The R21 malaria
vaccine will target children from 6 months to 18 months. It will be
administered at six, seven, eight, and eighteen months, for maximum protection.
Statistics from the
MoH indicate that at least 16 people in the country die of malaria daily, and
10 of these are children below 5 years.
The malaria
vaccination is one of the steps Uganda has chosen to fight against malaria. The
vaccines were procured with the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, with
co-funding from the government of Uganda.
So far 17 African
countries are already using the malaria vaccine, among them Kenya, Ghana, and
Malawi.
