The Ministry of Health has warned members of the public to desist from spreading misleading information and creating unnecessary and unwarranted speculations most especially regarding the health of the population.
The warning was issued by Dr. Diana Atwine the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health following what she termed as misleading social media posts alleging various costs of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Ministry of Health would like to clarify as follows: Uganda, like other Low and Middle Income Countries will access the COVID-19 vaccine through the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX facility). This facility is negotiating the price of the vaccine on behalf of almost 90 LMICs, including Uganda. No single country under COVAX has negotiated the price of the vaccine with the manufacturer directly” she explained.
Dr. Atwine further clarified that all countries will procure the vaccine at the same price as agreed between the COVAX facility and the manufacturers.
“The cost of USD 405 Million is a working estimate of the National Deployment Vaccination Plan (NDVP) to roll out the COVID-19 Vaccine. The Ministry would like to reiterate that this is a working estimate as we await final communication from the COVAX facility. It is important to note that each manufacturer of the approved COVID-19 vaccines has a different cost. Please disregard speculative information on the vaccine cost currently making rounds on social media” she said.
Dr. Atwine urged members of the public to always seek to verify information from the authorities.
