The 14-year-old was admitted to Kiruddu Referral Hospital with body swelling shortly after he was allegedly vaccinated at St Martin Secondary School, Mpigi, in the last week of February
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Forced Covid-19 vaccination on children leaves parents in despair
Joshua Agaba, a 10-year-old pupil at Rwanja Parents Primary school in Mitooma District, was vaccinated with a Pfizer vaccine dose, which is not recommended for his age group and even without his parent’s consent.
His father, Mr Everest Nuwagaba from Mbarara city, told Daily Monitor yesterday that he became concerned when Agaba started experiencing adverse reactions after the vaccination in March at the school.
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“They [school administrators] didn’t tell me about the vaccination. I quarrelled with them when I realised that my son was vaccinated and was experiencing unusual ear complications,” he said.
Mr Nuwagaba added: “They never informed any parent about the vaccination. Most of the children vaccinated were underage. My child is just 10 years. He has not been fine but they are keeping him in school [boarding section].”
We couldn’t independently verify whether ear complication was directly caused by the vaccine.
Mr Ray Ankunda, the head teacher, instead blamed the district health office.
“The district health team came to us and said they want to vaccinate children above 12 years. The time was too short to communicate to parents,” Mr Ankunda said.
“The vaccination was done last term. I had told children who are 12 years and above to come for vaccination, so maybe he [Agaba] didn’t get my instruction,” he added.
Health workers have been trained on who should be vaccinated with specific types of vaccines, according to the Ministry of Health.
Dr Sadic Byamugisha, the Mitooma health officer, denied the allegations, saying they are just planning to start the mass vaccination of children aged 12-17 years next week.
“I am not aware of that because we have just received the vaccines for children today. We are beginning the vaccination on June 21. We are still waiting for guidance from the Ministry of Health but we are still targeting those in the villages but we also want to do it in schools if the parents’ consent,” he told this newspaper.
However, Mr Nuwagaba is not the only one who is complaining about the vaccination of children without the consent of parents, even as the Health ministry officials have repeatedly assured the public that no child has been or will be vaccinated without the consent of the parent or caretaker.
Mr Mathias Nsubuga, another parent, told this newspaper yesterday in Kampala that his 14-year-old daughter, Recheal Namiiro, was vaccinated with Pfizer on November 29, 2021, at St Monica Birongo, a health facility in Kalungu District, without his consent.
“After that vaccination, she has been fainting and experiencing a lot of headaches. I went to Mengo hospital and they have recommended that we should do a CT scan on the brain. I have to do it to understand the harm,” he said, claiming that it was caused by the vaccine. He said her daughter’s learning has been disrupted.
According to the information on her vaccination card which this reporter saw, Namiiro got her first jab on the above date and second shot on January 3 at the health facility.
Namiiro told this reporter after returning from Mengo hospital that: “I started experiencing this after the vaccination. I am also feeling chest pain.” She is a student at Midland High School Mukono campus, according to her parents.
The medical form from Mengo Hospital indicates that Namiiro has “conversion disorder/hysteria and upper respiratory tract infection.”
Conversion disorder, according to scientists, is a neurological system disorder where a person experiences physical and sensory problems, such as paralysis, numbness, blindness, and deafness. The Mengo hospital doctor didn’t link the condition to the Pfizer vaccine.
A study about Pfizer vaccine side effects among recipients published last year by an American scientist, Dr Renuka Kadali, indicates that “musculoskeletal symptoms were in 428/803 (53.3percent); neurological symptoms, 102/803 (12.7 percent); head/ear/eyes/nose/throat symptoms, 97/803 (12.08 percent).”
The Director General of Health services, Dr Henry Mwebesa, had last year recommended vaccination of children 12-17 years who have underlying conditions such as sickle cell. Namiiro’s parents said their daughter doesn’t have any comorbidities. We couldn’t independently verify it.
Mr Nsubuga said when he enquired from the ministry about the his daughter;s situation, they responded that: “It is the mandate of the ministry to make these decisions. Let’s believe first that no one wishes any Ugandan harm, and all these decisions are for the greater good.”
When these issues were presented to the national Covid-19 vaccination commander, Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, he said: “Stop the rumours. We don’t even have AstraZeneca in store.”
He said 317,000 children have been vaccinated against Covid-19, and that “some have comorbidities.”
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Health ministry spokesperson, said they are investigating issues of adverse reaction after the Covid-19 vaccination.
“We released the guidelines on which vaccine to administer for a particular age group. Any health worker that violates will be culpable. Our team is still investigating the issue of adverse reactions,” Mr Ainebyoona said.
Vaccines in stock
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, yesterday said the country has only Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-17 years. “Vaccination of children 12-17 years will only be undertaken if parents accept their children to be vaccinated. We are still having discussions with the Ministry of Education, Local Government, and the parents in regard to this. If the parents want this done, it will be during the holiday season and parents will be requested to willingly take their children,” she said. “We don’t have vaccines for children 5-11 years. We shall only bring in the vaccines for these children [5-11 years] if the parents request that we bring them in,” she added.
