Teachers and Health workers are to be deleted from payroll failure to comply with this authority
The authorities in Ntungamo have proposed that teachers and health workers who have not received the recommended yellow fever vaccination be removed from their payroll.
This comes after an immunization health report revealed that, despite being vital mobilizers and implementers of the activity, teachers and healthcare workers have avoided it.
“We can't expect all the health workers who handle us now and then to infect us with yellow fever, yet there is a chance to immunize against it. We must tell them they will be deleted from payroll if they are not vaccinated. This is a health threat that we must all collaborate on to the end,” Ms. Bibiana Kakinoni, the Ntungamo District Secretary for Health, said during a Yellow Fever coordination meeting at Ntungamo District Council on Monday.
The acting District Health Officer, Mr. Roland Nahabwe, realized that most teachers and health workers were avoiding the vaccine exercise for unclear reasons.
“While most teachers were aiding us in mobilizing pupils to get vaccinated, they are not taking the jab. Even our health workers who are administering the jab to others are afraid of getting the vaccine. We are, however, talking to them slowly. A big percentage of our government workers have said they don’t want to be vaccinated,” he said.
According to Mr. Nahabwe, less than 40 percent of teachers and less than 50 percent of health workers have so far been vaccinated. He, however, stated that the rest of the community was responding well to the mass yellow fever vaccination campaign.
Dr. Clet Kakuru, vaccination coordinator for the South Western region, stated that people need not be forced to uptake the vaccine, though they must be educated enough on the need to be vaccinated.
Ms. Rosemary Asiimwe, Deputy Resident District Commissioner at Ntungamo, urged the civil servants and political leaders to embrace vaccination, as they are the only ones who can encourage the communities.
