Hoima regional referral hospital has been hit by a vaccine stock out leaving several mothers with nowhere to take their children for the routine immunization exercise. Mothers, especially those with children below three months say it’s now coming to two weeks since the hospital started turning away mothers who bring children for immunization because of the vaccine stock out.
Promise Kasibante, a mother of a one and half month old baby says she has been in and out of Hoima hospital for the last two weeks without securing a DPT dosage for her son.Dipheria, Pertussis and Tetanus-DPT is a vaccine combination given to children between six weeks and three months of age. The combination helps build the children’s immunity against Dipheria, whooping cough and polio.
Kasibante says that her child has not received any immunization because during the recent mass immunization he was less than six weeks. The mother says she is worried that her child could miss out on such an important vaccination.
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Sarah Nyinabantu, another mother of a month old baby says for the last two weeks she has been checking at the hospital but there have been not vaccines. Nyinabantu says she is disgusted by continuous promises of availing the vaccines in vain.
At the time URN visited Hoima hospital’s Maternal and Child Health Department, the usually filled up waiting room was almost empty. A source at the hospital that preferred to remain anonymous saying this was a sensitive matter confirmed the reports.
The source adds that the hospital has since May 30 gone without DPT supplies as the vaccine combination is reportedly out of stock in the district medical stores. Hoima District Health Officer Doctor Joseph Ruyonga refused to comment on the matter referring journalists to the hospital administrators.
