The Ugandan government announced plans to impose fines on people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
Failure to pay a fine of 4 million Ugandan shillings ($1,139) could mean a jail sentence under an amendment of a public health law currently being reviewed in Parliament.
The bill also states that any person who conceals an infectious disease could face fines of $850 or up to one year in jail.
“The bill has a section on vaccination and immunization as a public health measure to protect the vulnerable,” Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng told lawmakers on Monday. “When we introduce new vaccines, we need to get a mass of people so we create mass immunity. It is important that whoever is supposed to be vaccinated is vaccinated.”
The East African country is home to more than 45 million. However, only 16 million have received the jab—about a third of the population.
“According to the proposal, those who do not get vaccinated against COVID-19 will be fined 4 million shillings or [receive] a jail term of six months,” Parliament said in a statement on its website.
Dr. Driwale Alfred, the head of Uganda’s immunization program, says the proposed law is for the good of the country.
“There are those who are not going to comply, but they will either make other people fall sick or they will frustrate the containment effort,” Driwale told VOA News. “Now, to protect the public and appealing to people’s conscience for responsible decision making. If they fail then that becomes a mischief. A law will now come in to deal with this issue.”
