Over 20000 Ugandan nationals between the ages of 9months and 60 years in Entebbe Sub District and beyond have been vaccinated against the deadly yellow fever.
The campaign that started on the 19th of August this year by the National Medical Stores(NMS) as part of their corporate social responsibility was initially set to end on Monday 23rd August, was extended for an extra week due to public demand.
In an interview with Sheila Nduhukire who is the Principal Public Relations Officer at NMS, revealed NMS’ plans to increase awareness for yellow fever.
“Yellow fever is deadly but hasn’t received much attention from the public, Ugandans are only happy to get vaccinated ahead of travel but should know that it can affect anyone anywhere.” Nduhukire said
“We have always had such campaigns annually across the country and we are committed to give back to communities. Many unsuspecting Ugandans have been duped and had to pay handsomely for this vaccine but we are providing vaccines for free to all nationals.” Nduhukire added
According to recent statistics, Yellow fever virus is estimated to cause 200,000 cases of disease and 30,000 deaths each year, with 90% occurring in Africa.This means 20% to 50% of infected persons who develop severe disease die.
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