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March 19, 2021

27 year old nurse dies after AstraZeneca vaccination

Uganda will import five million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines next month after the discovery of new COVID-19 variants in the country, President Yoweri Museveni has said. In a televised address to the nation late Friday, Museveni said the vaccines will be used to vaccinate at least 80 per cent of the 5.5 million elderly. People below 50 years, with underlying medical conditions that are at high risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, will also be vaccinated. Uganda targets to vaccinate more than 21.9 million people who face the highest risk of the infection, including the health workers, teachers, social workers and security personnel, elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. “The government is working hard to ensure we bring another five million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine before the end of May to complete the threshold vaccination and ensure that those vaccinated before getting the second booster dose,’’ said Museveni. “Vaccines are the most effective intervention we have against COVID-19. “The government and partners are working hard to bring vaccines to most adult Ugandans to protect them and to support us to reopen the economy and get back all our children to school.’’ Henry Mwebesa, Director-General of Health Services, last week said Uganda is scheduled to receive some two million more doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in May through the COVAX facility. Uganda has so far received 964,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX vaccine sharing programme and the Indian government. As of April 16, a total of 220,893 people had been inoculated with the first jab of AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, according to the Ministry of Health statistics. The country has reported the emergence of the highly transmissible COVID-19 variants which were first reported in Britain, South Africa and Nigeria. The ministry’s data showed that as of April 16, Uganda had registered a cumulative total of 41,340 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 40,898 recoveries and 338 deaths.

A nurse was reportedly dead on Friday after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in Georgia’s southwestern city of Akhaltsikhe on Thursday.

The 27-year-old nurse, Megi Bakradze, who developed an alleged anaphylactic reaction after receiving the first shot of the vaccine, died after being transported to a hospital in Tbilisi, local Interpressnews reported.

The report said four cities, Khelvachauri, Keda, Shuakhevi and Khulo in the western region of Adjara has suspended the vaccination process.

Earlier on Thursday, after assessing the case, Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze announced that Georgia will continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine despite the recent case of an alleged complication.

READ ALSO: WHO reviewing data, recommends AstraZeneca Covid vaccines continue

She said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the possible risks.

Georgia received the first 43,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines on Saturday.

Vaccination of health workers across the country started on Monday, with over 3,000 people vaccinated as of Friday.

Georgia on Friday reported 360 new COVID-19 cases, taking the national count to 276,796, according to the country’s National Center for Disease Control and Public Health. (Xinhua/NAN)

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