COVID-19 Updates

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | American biopharmaceutical company Pfizer said on Wednesday that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine can “strongly” boost protection against the Delta variant. Antibody levels against the Delta variant in people aged 18 to 55 who receive a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are greater …

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Districts in the West Nile region are struggling to manage the Covid-19 pandemic due to lack of ambulances. Following the resurgence of the second wave of the coronavirus, some of the districts require referral of patients to Arua and Mulago national referral hospital. In the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has blamed the 10th Parliament for delaying the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, even as the country struggled to beat the pandemic during the first wave. The Government Chief Whip Thomas Tayebwa told the NRM Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons of the different Parliamentary …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The lockdown has been a success in reducing the number of Covid-19 infections in the country. This is according to the Ministry of Health. Last month, President Museveni announced several measures including the closure of schools, suspension of religious gatherings and transport between districts, for …

Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The French Government has donated to Uganda an assortment of personal protective equipment, testing kits and respirators to boost the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation worth about €2.7 million (Shs 10.8bn) includes 1,000,000 FFP2 masks, 54,600 antigen testing kits and nine …

Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Tanzania has received the first shipment of 1,058,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the US government. The vaccines delivered through the COVAX arrangement arrived at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salam on July 26 under the watchful eyes of Donald …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has accredited seven laboratories to test migrant workers for Covid-19. The selected laboratories are MBN Laboratory, MAIA Group labs, Makerere University hospital, Test and Fly and City Medicals Laboratory. Others are Same Day Lab and Safari Laboratory (at Entebbe Airport). Last …

Lira, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local leaders and educationists in Northern Uganda have called on government to vaccinate all teachers before institutions of learning are re-opened. In a meeting with the Parliamentary Taskforce committee on Covid-19, Lira district leaders said there were a lot of infections in schools which had …

Kasese OPM relief deliveries: Could it be syndicated or associated crime? COMMENT | Samson Tinka | Last week Uganda’s new Prime Minister Robinah Nabanja had gone to Kasese for official duties that included officiating on the handover of relief supplies to flood victims. To her dismay the items procured by her …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | THE INDEPENDENT | Tanzania’s new position on containment of COVID-19 gains momentum tomorrow when President Samia Suluhu Hassan receives her first Coronavirus jab. It will mark the launch of the COVID-19 immunization campaign in Tanzania, a country that a few months questioned measures being taken worldwide to …