VOA健康报道2024--Uganda Targets Yellow Fever with Vaccination, Travel Limits

Uganda Targets Yellow Fever with Vaccination¹, Travel Limits

The East African country of Uganda has begun a nationwide yellow fever vaccination campaign.

The aim is for the country to protect its population against the viral disease. Yellow fever is spread by insects called mosquitoes.

Dr. Michael Baganizi is an official in charge of immunization at the health ministry². By the end of April, Ugandan officials had vaccinated³ 12.2 of the 14 million people targeted, he said.

Baganizi added that Uganda will now require everyone traveling to and from the country to have a yellow fever vaccination card.

Ugandan officials hope the requirement will push more people to get the yellow fever shot. Many people in Uganda have concerns about getting the vaccine⁴. That worries health care providers.

The vaccine involves one injection. It is available at no cost to Ugandans between the ages of one and 60. There are vaccination centers in the capital, Kampala. Places offering the vaccine include schools, universities, hospitals, and local government buildings.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that, before the current campaign, Ugandans usually paid $27 to get the yellow fever vaccination at private health centers.

Uganda has more than 45 million people. It is one of 27 countries in Africa that is considered at “high risk” for yellow fever outbreaks. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are about 200,000 cases and 30,000 deaths around the world from the disease.

Uganda’s most recent outbreak was reported earlier this year in the central areas of Buikwe and Buvuma.

Yellow fever is caused by a virus spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Most infections do not have symptoms. The WHO says symptoms can include a high body temperature, muscle pain, head pain, loss of willingness to eat, upset stomach, and vomiting⁶.

Uganda’s vaccination program is part of a worldwide effort launched in 2017 to eliminate yellow fever by 2026. That goal was set by the WHO and its partners such as the U.N. children’s agency. The aim is to protect almost one billion people in Africa and in North and South America.

Last year, a study said that 185 million people in high-risk African countries had been vaccinated by August 2022.

In Uganda, most people get the yellow fever vaccination when they are traveling to countries such as South Africa. South Africa requires proof of vaccination upon arrival in the country.

James Odite is a nurse working at a private hospital, which also is a vaccination center in an area of Kampala. He told the AP that hundreds of shots remained unused after the yellow fever vaccination campaign closed. They might be used in a future mass campaign.

Some people wonder if “the government wants to give them expired⁷ vaccines⁸,” Odite said.

Baganizi said Uganda’s government has spent money on community “sensitization” programs. In these programs, officials tell people that vaccines save lives.

Words in This Story

immunization – v. to give (someone) a vaccine to prevent infection by a disease

symptoms – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

vomit⁵ – v. to have the food or liquid that is in your stomach come out through your mouth because you are sick

eliminate – v. to get rid of (something)

expired – v. to no longer be valid after a period of time

1 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

6 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

7 expired   

期满( expire的过去式和过去分词 )； 文件、协议等（因到期而）失效； 断气； 逝世

参考例句：

• The period of validity of the agreement has expired. 本协议的有效期已过。
• Their licences have expired. 他们的执照已到期。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。