COVID-19: Uganda takes new variant very seriously, says Ainebyoona

Nov 26, 2021

Scientists fear that the new COVID-19 variant might be more transmissible, and vaccines might be less effective against it.

Health ministry's senior public relations officer Emmanuel Ainebyoona.

Umar Kashaka
Journalist @New Vision

The ministry of health has said they are taking the new coronavirus variant that is circulating in South Africa very seriously.

“The developments in Southern Africa and the response by some countries are of great concern to our national response, and we are taking them very seriously. The ministry of health will make a statement soon. In the meantime, all our interventions remain,” the ministry’s senior public relations officer, Emmanuel Ainebyoona said this Friday.

He added in a tweet that the people in Uganda need to embrace their vaccination drive as the only major way out of danger for the country.

“However, all the measures and options to stop the new variant are being reviewed by the scientists,” Ainebyoona said.

Scientists fear that the new COVID-19 variant might be more transmissible, and vaccines might be less effective against it.

According to the BBC, South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana have identified just 59 cases of the variant, so far, while Israeli media also reports one case has been identified involving a traveller.

They report that scientists say the variant has 50 mutations overall, and more than 30 on the spike protein, which is the target of most vaccines and the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway into our body's cells.

The ministry of health this Friday confirmed 76 new cases of COVID-19 in Uganda, bringing the total to 127,375.  

It said that the tests it did on November 24 confirmed these cases out of the 5,477 samples collected that day.

It also reported that a total of 6, 178, 631 vaccine doses had been administered. 

In his national addresses recently, President Yoweri Museveni said that by the end of December 2021, more than 12 million Ugandans should have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

He noted that by the end of December, Uganda will have received 23 million doses of vaccines and that he will fully open up the country in January next year whether people go for vaccination or not. 

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