KIU, Western Campus c��?? KIU Teaching Hospitalc��?cs preparations to celebrate the World Immunization Week 2020 have been called off because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the hospitalc��?cs Principal Nursing Officer (PNO) Elizabeth Kamahoro has announced.

The annual event was slated to start tomorrow 24th April and end on 30th April, under the theme #VacinnesWorkForAll but the ongoing lockdown imposed by President Yoweri Museveni due to COVID-19 means that it cannot take place due to travel restrictions on the part of mothers.

The hospitalc��?cs nursing departmentc��?cs immunization arm was supposed to move to various villages around Bushenyi district immunizing children against the 11 killer diseases Polio, Measles, Diphtheria, Whooping cough, Tuberculosis, Pneumonia, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Haemophillus Influnzae type B, Rota Virus Diarrhoea and Chickenpox.

Sr Kamahoro warned that not holding the event could have an adverse effect on childrenc��?cs health.

c��?We give these vaccines to children under five to protect them against these killer diseases. This means that if we donc��?ct immunize them, the prevention of these diseases will be derailed, which is very dangerous to their future health,c⬝ she said.

c��?Everyone is thinking about COVID-19, but we may end up getting a solution to the pandemic, only for other epidemics like measles and Polio, which had been defeated, to come up,c⬝ Sr Kamahoro added.

She however said some vaccines like BCG, the vaccine for preventing Tuberculosis were being administered to new-borns at the hospital.