MPs oppose vaccination of children against Covid
A vial of the Johnson & Johnson OVID-19 vaccine. PHOTO/FILE/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The Education ministry insists that no learner will be vaccinated without the consent of their parents/guardian.
The proposal by the Health ministry to start vaccination of children below the age of 18 has kicked up a storm, with the latest opponents being a section of Members of Parliament.
The Health ministry recently announced that it would in August this year commence the Covid-19 vaccination drive for children between the age of five and 17.
The Shadow Health minister, Dr Timothy Batuwa, said there is no need to vaccinate children since their immunity is strong.
“We understand that the purpose of Covid vaccination is to reduce the severity of the diseases to protect one from transiting from mild to severe disease but children do not transit from mild to severe disease,” Dr Batuwa said at the weekend.
He said at the time when the spread of Covid-19 was at its peak, they visited several referral hospitals and discovered that a small percentage of children was affected.
“We found that almost all intensive care units did not admit any single child. They were full with mainly adults. Imposing a policy on an age group that is not affected is a waste of resources,” he cautioned.
Dr Batuwa said such resources should instead be diverted to programmes such as those intended to address malaria which claims several lives on a daily basis.
The Buikwe South MP, Dr Michael Lulume Bayiga, said it is important to seek the opinion and consent of parents before vaccinating children.
“Many people are of the view that the vaccine mandate for their children should be subjected to consent of their parents and they must make conscious approval to whether their children should be vaccinated or not.
But vaccination is necessary because we need to take precautions to ensure that our children are safe,” Dr Lulume said in a telephone interview at the weekend.
The Obongo Constituency MP, Dr George Didi Bhoka, said the Health ministry has a legitimate right to vaccinate children against the deadly virus, if they consider them in danger.
“Covid-19 is a disease like Malaria, HIV, or other disease. Once it finds a home in a human being, it remains a public health threat. Being a virus, it can mutate and become aggressive any time.”
The views of the legislators come at a time when the Health and Education ministries are at loggerheads over vaccination of children.
The Education ministry insists that no learner will be vaccinated without the consent of their parents/guardians while the Health ministry is adamant that they will vaccinate with or without their consent.
