The seventh round of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign has commenced in earnest in the Central Region, targeting 92,500 people who are 18 years and above.
The Central Regional Directorate of Health has thus deployed 400 teams across all districts to undertake the exercise in various communities, hospitals, homes, schools, and other public places.
In this round, health officials will only administer the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine to the eligible group.
The five-day special exercise which commenced on Wednesday and end on Sunday, aims at consolidating the country’s gains in the fight against Covid-19 and propel it towards achieving herd immunity.
Launching the region’s version of the exercise on Wednesday, Dr Kwabena Sarpong, the Deputy Director in Charge of Public Health, indicated that it was mainly targeted at people who had not been vaccinated at all.
However, he explained, persons who had taken only one shot of any type of Covid-19 vaccine and those who were vaccinated more than a year ago also qualified for the vaccination in this campaign.
Of the total eligible target population of 1.7 million, 70 percent had received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine so far, he reported.
He further stated that 55 per cent had been fully vaccinated while 50 per cent had received boosters.
Dr Sarpong noted, however, that 30 per cent of the target population had not received any vaccination at all, citing vaccination refusals and vaccine hesitancy as major challenges.
Following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) announcement that Covid-19 was no longer a Public Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), many believed Ghana was free of the disease.
“It is not true that it is gone and that is why we need to continue with the vaccination.
“I can tell you with all authority that we are still recording Covid-19 infections across Ghana and in the region,” he maintained.
He revealed that the Central Region alone had recorded more than 100 new infections this year to date, many of whom were admitted for treatment.
He observed that many people who recovered from the disease were still battling lung complications, heart issues, mental health challenges issues among other complications.
“Until we vaccinate the critical mass of our target population, we cannot reach herd immunity,” he noted.
“If we stop the vaccination, we will be exposing a bigger part of the population to Covid-19 and possibly other complicated conditions,” he maintained.
For special groups such as differently abled persons who might not be able to receive the jab during the five-day window, Dr Sarpong assured that there would be a special regime to vaccinate them as groups at no cost when they placed a request in writing.
Additionally, he assured that the Ghana card would not be the sole requirement for vaccination, indicating that people could go along with any form of national identification including voter ID and driver’s license.
GNA