More than 400,000 people vaccinated during the first phase

405,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Ghana

A total of 405,000 people were vaccinated against Covid-19 from March 2 to 18, data from the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) showed.

These come from 43 selected districts in the Greatet Accra, Ashanti and Central regions.

People vaccinated include frontline health workers, adults aged 60 and over, people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, cancer, health workers. front-line security, front-line government officials, the media, and all front-line workers in the formal sector.

Currently, 250,368 people in Accra, 187,510 people in Kumasi and 11,293 in the central region have received their first vaccine from Covishield, the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, as part of the first phase of the exercise.

A total of 20 million Ghanaians are expected to be vaccinated against the virus.

EPI program director Dr Kwame Amponsa –Achiano, in an interview with Ghana’s news agency in Accra on Thursday, said women made up about 62 percent of the number vaccinated so far.

He said that about 63,033 people with underlying health conditions, 91,000 adults aged 60 and over, about 72,332 health workers, 23,000 frontline security officers and more than 48,000 health workers. essential services have received their first blow.

Likewise, more than 12,000 members of the executive, judiciary and legislature, 60,000 teachers aged 60 and over, 3,063 media personnel and 87,092 members of the public have been vaccinated.

Dr Amponsah-Achiano said the EPI will start immunizing health workers in all 16 regions from next week and welcomed the progress made so far.

He said the country had already taken delivery of 15,000 doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine from Russia, but that it was not currently in use.

“We did not start using it because the first and second dose of Sputnik V are not the same, the vaccine has a corresponding dosing schedule and unfortunately we did not get the corresponding amounts, we did. put on hold for now until we get the match. quantities, ”he said.

Dr Amponsah-Achiano said that between March and May, Ghana would receive two million additional doses of vaccine from the COVAX chunk facility, which could immunize three percent of the population.

He said Ghana was talking with the makers of Sputnik V to get additional doses, after which they would be administered to the public.

“We also hope to obtain additional doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through other multiple sources, including the 17,000 doses announced by the President,” he said.

Dr Amponsah-Achiano encouraged the public to continue to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols by wearing a nasal mask, observing social distances, washing their hands with soap under running water or disinfecting frequently. hands.

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common in animals. In rare cases, they’re what scientists call zoonotics, which means they can be passed from animals to humans, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

It has an incubation period of four to six days and is fatal, especially for those with weakened immune systems; the elderly and the very young. It could also lead to pneumonia and bronchitis