JOEL ISABIRYE: Covidex-Why Uganda should still tread carefully with Covid-19 

I congratulate Professor Ogwang on his fantastic innovation in COVIDEX, which is improving the lives of many Ugandans who have COVID-19 or are taking it to prevent the virus.

When the first wave of COVID-19 arrived in Uganda, we experienced an unprecedented lockdown. Of course, previous epidemics, particularly those in border areas, had some form of movement restriction. When diseases that affect animals become uncontrollable, their movement is frequently restricted.

So, as COVID launched its assault, I spent a bit of the time during the lockdown watching CNN. There was plenty of time, and I saw how mighty nations with incredible capabilities were brought to their knees by a virus that neither they nor we knew much about. There were frantic efforts to find a vaccine, which outpaced normal protocols. This, however, was necessary.

The people of Uganda, like Thomas, did not take the first wave seriously because they wanted circumstantial evidence. The public wanted to witness the deaths of people they knew. I lost 41 people in the first wave, and I knew COVID was lethal in any wave. So I insisted on using masks and sanitizers, and I was mocked for it in the city.

A waitress asked me if I was a medical doctor because I was wearing a mask at a restaurant in Nateete where I had gone to collect data. In other words there was no need for masks. This was on the day (weeks ago) that the media broadcast a joint broadcast warning the public about the rising number of cases.

Then there were the vaccines. This exacerbated the situation. People who had received the jab suddenly stopped wearing masks and moved around with the assurance of someone who had won a million dollars in the lottery. Our trust had now been placed in the vaccine, until we discovered that even those who had received the vaccine were dying.

Then came COVIDEX. When I first heard about COVIDEX, I was as excited as I was about the vaccine discoveries I saw on CNN. However, I believed that Uganda should not continue with its arrivalism. COVIDEX should improve previously known methods of prevention and management of infection.

This disease is still too novel to be predicted or treated with assurance. We are still in the trial and error phases. It would be tragic to learn, as with the vaccines, that 300 people who took COVIDEX died as a result of a mutating variant or a minor flaw that the rushed production of the remedy did not account for.

Our standard operating procedures, routine tests, targeted meals, and other methods should be combined with new and emerging solutions like COVIDEX.