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A total of 405,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 from March 2-18, data from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) shows.
These are from 43 selected districts in the Greatet Accra, Ashanti and Central regions.
Those vaccinated include front-line health workers, adults 60 and older, people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, cancer, front-line security personnel, 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 Covishield puncture, the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, in the first phase of the exercise.
In total, 20 million Ghanaians are expected to be vaccinated against the virus.
Dr. Kwame Amponsa –Achiano, EPI Program Manager, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday, said that women made up about 62 percent of the number of vaccinated so far.
He said that around 63,033 people with underlying health problems, 91,000 adults aged 60 and over, around 72,332 healthcare workers, 23,000 front-line security personnel and more than 48,000 essential services workers have taken their first hit.
Likewise, more than 12,000 members of the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative powers, 60,000 teachers aged 60 or over, 3,063 media professionals and 87,092 citizens have been vaccinated.
Dr. Amponsah-Achiano said that the EPI, starting next week, will begin vaccinating health workers in all 16 regions and expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far.
He said the country had already received 15,000 doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine from Russia, but that it was not currently in use.
“We have not started using it because the first and second doses of Sputnik V are not the same, the vaccine has an equivalent dosage regimen and, unfortunately, we did not get the corresponding amounts, we are suspending it for now until we get an equivalent dose amounts “, He said.
Dr Amponsah-Achiano said that between March and May Ghana would receive an additional two million doses of vaccine from COVAX facilities in chunks, which could vaccinate three percent of the population.
He said Ghana was arguing with the makers of Sputnik V for additional doses, after which they would be administered to the public.
“We also hope to obtain additional doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through multiple other 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 distancing, washing hands with soap under running water, or sanitizing hands frequently.
Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common among animals.
In rare cases, they are what scientists call zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
It has an incubation period of four to six days and is fatal, especially for those with a weakened immune system; the old and the very young.
It could also lead to pneumonia and bronchitis.
