KAMPALA — In partnership with KCCA, Housing Finance Bank organized a two-day vaccination exercise for its employees and their families at its headquarters in Kololo and has continued to rally upcountry staff to receive the vaccination at government gazetted centers.
This comes at the time when the Ministry has warned of a second COVID-19 outbreak with the recent spike in numbers being registered.
“These are turbulent times. The safety of our employees, their families and customers are of utmost importance to us. The rising number of cases is overwhelming, and we believe as a bank, our first responsibility is to our people. By bringing vaccination closer to them, we are saving more lives through this,” said Marietta Mwesigwa, Housing Finance Bank, Chief Risk Officer.
The responsibility for our safety and loved ones falls on each one of us so we should take that seriously. We have come so far as a country and a second lockdown will take us so many steps back. I urge all Ugandans to embrace vaccination as a shield during these uncertain times,” she urged.
In a notice issued by the Ministry of Health, the public is cautioned to be more vigilant in upholding the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as there has been a laxity within the public in doing so. The recent change in weather patterns has partly fueled infections among young and middle-aged groups as well as more cases without signs and symptoms.
Between 16th and 22nd May 2021, Uganda registered over 1,000 cases in one week the highest since last year. The Ministry will be forced to institute another lockdown if Ugandans do not strictly observe SOPs. This they say, will be one of the strategies aimed at controlling the increasing number of infections registered in the country daily.
Currently, the Ministry of Health is urging all persons who received the 1st dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and have completed between 8 to 12 weeks, to visit any designated vaccination health facility and receive their second dose.
While receiving her second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng reminded the public about a resurgence which she said is more dangerous and is likely to cause more sickness and death if people do not take precautions.
“I want to tell Ugandans that the situation is not good” if people are not careful, we may end up losing many more people than we did before because apparently, Ugandans seem to have forgotten that we have COVID-19 and are back to their normal lives. The number of cases is increasing daily and our isolation facilities, especially the intensive care unit at Mulago are already full. If you are eligible for bed right now, you may go on the waiting list,” she cautioned.
