The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun another phase of national COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the country from July 3, 2024.
The Service targets to deliver at least 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines in this nationwide campaign to all persons 18 years and above, as part of periodic intensification of COVID-19 vaccination.
A statement signed by the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said vaccination teams would be available at various hospitals, clinics and health centres to deliver the COVID-19 vaccines to the target population.
It said the team would move from house-to-house, market centres, churches, mosques, workplaces and many others to make the vaccines readily available to all eligible persons.
The Director-General said the COVID-19 vaccine was now a routine vaccine for adults and available at all vaccination centres across the country, adding that although the country had made some significant progress towards vaccinating the target population, there were still segments of the population that had received only partial doses or had not received any dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and so remained vulnerable to the disease.
He said children below 15 years of age who were not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination per the national policy also remained vulnerable and needed to be indirectly protected through the high vaccination uptake by the adult population in ensuring herd immunity.
The GHS indicated that as at 28 June 2024, a total of 29,191,110 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to the population and about 56 per cent of the targeted population had completed the primary series.
“As the country strives to increase the population’s immunity and break transmission of the disease, within the contest of gradual increase in cases, it is imperative that all unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals prevent any potential surge in the disease incidence and associated ill health and or deaths,” the statement said.
“The recent increased number of COVID-19 cases in in April and May, 2024, in Ghana is an ample evidence that the disease is not over, we are, therefore, calling on all stakeholders to support this effort by making sure that all eligible persons avail themselves to be vaccinated with the primary series and the boosters to ensure maximum protection.”
Credit: GNA