GNA – The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it has distributed nine million doses of varied COVID-19 vaccines to all parts of the country, but only a third has been administered as of November 12.
Data on the GHS COVID-19 update page showed that of the 3,367,531 doses administered 839,770 persons have been fully vaccinated, while 2,695,724 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
It showed that 3,016,935 (first and second) doses of AstraZeneca have been administered in addition to 16,455 doses of Sputnik-V, 166,178 of Moderna, and 167,963 of Johnson and Johnson.
Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, the Head of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) at the GHS, said although the Government had targeted to vaccinate about 20,000 people before the end of the year, the number vaccinated represented 4.2 per cent of the targeted population, which was not too impressive.
He told the Ghana News Agency that there were enough vaccines available for the public and called on those who had not yet received their jobs to do so.
Dr Amponsa-Achiano said the level of vaccine acceptability among the public has not been very good saying: “The misinformation and disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine has contributed to vaccine hesitancy among the public”.
He urged all who were yet to receive their jabs to visit any public health facility across the country or designated vaccination sites to get vaccinated.
He called on the media to keep educating the public on the need to receive their jabs.
The GHS, in September, begun a mass administration of COVID-19 vaccines to persons aged 18 years and above.
The ongoing exercise is for all and not for selected persons like the previous ones and being undertaken in the health facilities, lorry stations, churches and markets in efforts to reach more people.
Dr Amponsa-Achiano urged the public to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols, by observing social distancing, washing hands frequently with soap under running water, using hand sanitizers and always wearing a nose mask to avert a fourth wave.
The COVID 19-vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control, are effective and can reduce the risk of getting and spreading the virus, while preventing children and adults from getting seriously ill.
GNA