WHO’s 7 policy recommendations on building resilient health systems
WHO, 19 October 2021
COVID-19 has had a wide-ranging impact on all areas of society, leading to setbacks in health gains and efforts to achieve universal health coverage (UHC).
Delta ‘Plus’ Covid variant may be more transmissible
BBC, Oct 22, 2021
A new mutated form of coronavirus that some are calling “Delta Plus” may spread more easily than regular Delta, UK experts now say.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59009293
Govt to test incoming travellers for Covid-19
Daily Monitor, October 22, 2021. By Eve Muganga
More than 200 staff from all agencies at Entebbe International Airport, who will be involved in the testing of incoming travellers, have undergone orientation. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/govt-to-test-incoming-travellers-for-covid-19-3592302
Why govt is delaying to dispatch of J&J jabs
Daily Monitor; By Tonny Abet
Many unvaccinated Ugandans have asked the government to distribute the 661,600 doses of single-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccines acquired through direct procurement using taxpayers money.
https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/why-govt-is-delaying-to-dispatch-j-j-jabs-3592372
Prisons cry out for Covid-19 vaccines
Daily Monitor; By Ritah Kemigisa
The Uganda Prisons Service has said more than10,000 out of the more than 60,000 inmates have so far received their first Covid-19 jabs across the country. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/prisons-cries-out-for-covid-19-vaccines-3592386
COVID-19 vaccination open to people without national IDs – health ministry
New Vision, By Denis Nsubuga
Vaccination for COVID-19 is now open to people without a national identification card, the Ministry of Health has said. According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyona, one can use a letter of introduction from Local Council (LC)1, a passport, driving permit, school’s ID or a next of kin ID.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/117993/covid-19-vaccination-open-to-people-without-n
AC partner states hail mobile laboratories in COVID-19 response
New Vision; By John Odyek
Leaders from the EAC partner states have commended the contribution of the EAC Mobile Laboratories project in bolstering national COVID-19 response initiatives.
The laboratories are estimated to have analyzed more than 600,000 samples, reduced the turnaround time from three to five days to eight hours.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/118004/ac-partner-states-hail-mobile-laboratories-in
Pfizer says the Covid vaccine is 90% effective in younger children
New Vision
Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic disease among children aged 5-to-11, the company said in a document released Friday that put forward its case for authorization.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15fnOLyaQk29gr-8zOitkgs6Pk64B-7UGYLJvzi2Rcl8/edit#
Naguru Hospital seeks land as it shapes into the national trauma centre
New Vision; By Edward Kayiwa
The China-Uganda Friendship Hospital Naguru, is seeking more land for expansion as it transitions from a general hospital to a national referral trauma and emergencies centre.
https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/117870/naguru-hospital-seeks-land-as-it-shapes-into
Mental health crisis
The Independent;
Dr Juliet Nakku, the Executive Director of Butabika National Referral Hospital, says that the current lack of public funding to the mental health sector greatly contributes to the mental health crisis in Uganda. Many mental health patients face stigma and are discriminated against in a country where the psychiatrist to patient ratio is 1 to 900,000.
https://www.independent.co.ug/mental-health-crisis/