New Uganda law to impose fines on those who refuse COVID vaccine
Al JazeeraDec 22, 2021
The Facts
Uganda is seeking to make COVID vaccination mandatory, with those who refuse facing fines of up to 4M shillings ($1133.91) or jail time of up to 6 months.
Only ~16M jabs have been administered in Uganda, which has a population of 45M. 163,000 cases and 3,500 deaths have been recorded since the start of COVID.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The low vaccination rate is primarily due to vaccine hesitancy. Mandating the COVID vaccine will help the country achieve mass immunity and finally overcome the pandemic. The government is doing the best it can given the circumstances.
Establishment-critical narrative
Vaccination rate is low because of poor government rollout. Issues include people being turned away, lack of safety assurance and outreach campaigns, and difficulty in finding a second shot. Forcing Ugandans to get the vaccine under threat of penalty will only promote widespread forgery.