Mr Ojara Martin Mapenduzi, the L.C V chairman Gulu district has said the district is incapacitated to give free Hepatitis B vaccination to everybody even as the disease gets rampant among the population.
“We can’t help our poor people but they have to stop undermining themselves because they should spend their money to get vaccinated than wait for treatment when they are tested positive,” Mr Mapenduzi said.
He said that the people in the grassroots should be encouraged to know their Hepatitis B status by testing so that they can immediately be vaccinated if found to be negative.
Mr Mapenduzi added that though the Hepatitis B vaccination ranges from Shs40, 000 to Shs70,000 for each round in most health outlets, (three rounds of vaccination are done for Hepatitis B) there is need for the local community to think about preventing and compare it to the amount of money they will spend when they contract the disease which is viral.
The chairman’s remarks follow complaints by the public in Gulu that the Hepatitis B vaccines are too expensive.
The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) in their last recruitment exercise in Gulu turned away 30% of the youths who turned up after they tested positive for Hepatitis B positive.
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Personally I would be hesitant to give “free vaccines” for the fact that vaccinations generate further diseases especially against our people.The government bring the “vaccines” from those who have population control agenda; land grabbing etc. Our home pharmacists should develop drugs locally.