By Robert Madoi
The talk of eligibility for the coronavirus vaccines is starting to gain traction in Uganda with the government confirming that $405m (Shs 1.5 trillion) will be ring-fenced to acquire nearly 32 million doses. The first batch, comprising 18 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca’s jab, will be procured from India’s Serum Institute at the tail end of March. A 10-strong committee that will advise on how the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered was inaugurated in the last workweek of February.
On 24 February, committee member Prof. Nelson Sewankambo explained why children in the age bracket zero and 17 will not be rolling up their sleeves when the inoculation programme finally kicks off. He told the Ugandan independent newspaper Daily Monitor thus: “The clinical trials [for the vaccines] didn’t include children. [So] we are not sure whether they will be affected negatively if they get the vaccine. So we have to proceed cautiously.”
We took a closer look and discovered that the efficacy of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in children is being tested in a clinical trial that only took centre stage this month (February). The jab — known as the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine — is being trialled on 300 volunteers to assess whether it triggers a strong immune response in children aged between six and 17. Grace LI, a paediatric clinical research fellow at Oxford Vaccine Group said: “This study will play an important role in helping to protect children in the future. We’ve already seen that the vaccine is safe and effective in adults, and our understanding of how children are affected by the coronavirus continues to evolve.”
Along with those from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab received the green light from World Health Organization to be administered to adults. Oxford/AstraZeneca’s AZD1222 vaccine is intended to be use by persons aged 18 years and above as per the World Health Organization’s recommendations. This is why researchers behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have launched a mid-stage study to test their Covid-19 vaccine in children aged between six and 17. Nearly 250 children will receive the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, with others receiving a control meningitis jab.
The lower burden of morbidity and mortality in young people has seen them reduced to nonentities even as the world enters the sharp end of the vaccination race. Despite — or in fact because — their role in transmission being ambiguous, inoculation of children is now being seriously considered to among other things secure educational settings. Whether those below 12 years of age will require a modified formulation or dosing schedule from adolescents remains to be seen.
While the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is still undergoing review under the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing, it has captured the imagination of the Ugandan government. Part of the vaccine’s lure is the fact that it was tailored to save lives in poor and rich countries alike. The vaccine’s stability under alternative cold-chain distribution (needs ordinary refrigeration at 2 to 8C) and storage conditions makes the logistics of taking it in a mass vaccination programme that much more manageable. It is also set at not-for-profit prices; although it’s unclear why Uganda is forking out $7 for the vaccine when others have $5.25 on their tab.
Questions have been raised about the efficacy of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab in not just older persons (65 and above) but also the face of the South Africa coronavirus variant. The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (Sage) nonetheless cleared it be given in two doses, eight to 12 weeks apart. Although Uganda has not put together a vaccine introduction plan, its health ministry intends to immunise at least 4.2 million Ugandans before July. Workers in the armed services (200,000), health facilities (110,000), and teaching institutions (100,000) will be first in the queue during the vaccine rollout.
Our ruling
Prof. Sewankambo told Daily Monitor: “We are not sure whether [children] will be affected negatively if they get the [Oxford/AstraZeneca jab]. So we have to proceed cautiously.”
This essentially ossified the point that Uganda’s health minister, Ruth Aceng put across when she revealed: “About 43 per cent of our population is below the age of 15 years and research has not yet shown us whether children below age 15 can be vaccinated with the current vaccines.”
As a matter of fact, data on the safety and efficacy of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab in younger age groups will start to trickle in at the backend of June.
We therefore rate Prof. Sewankambo’s comment True.
Our sources
BBC News, “Covid: Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine to be Tested on Children,” Feb. 13, 2021
Daily Monitor, “Government Confirms New Strain of Coronavirus,” Feb 12, 2021
Daily Monitor, “22 Million Ugandans to Miss Covid Vaccine,” Feb. 24, 2021
University of Oxford, “Oxford University Extends COVID-19 Vaccine Study to Children,” Feb 12, 2021
World Health Organization, “COVID-19 Vaccines Technical Documents,” Feb. 10, 2021
World Health Organization, “Interim Recommendations for use of the AZD1222 (ChAdOx1-S (recombinant)) Vaccine Against COVID-19 Developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca,” Feb. 10, 2021