A/R: GHS worried as 74% residents yet to take 2nd COVID-19 jab

The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has deployed an enhanced COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign to twenty (20) out of the region’s forty three (43) districts, to counter high vaccine hesitancy.

Since the COVID-19 vaccination begun in the Ashanti Region on March 1st 2019, a meagre 1.6 million residents of the Region have availed themselves to be fully vaccinated.

A jaw dropping 74% of residents who took their first shots are yet to turn up for their second jab despite the several National Vaccination Day exercises held in the region.

Addressing a news conference ahead of the February 8 to 13 campaign, the Ashanti Regional health Director Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang indicated that, Four million five hundred and fifty thousand two hundred and forty four (4,550,244) dozes have so far been administered

He stated that two million three hundred and sixty three, four hundred and eighty four (2,363,484) had taking their first shots implying just one million six hundred and sixty two four hundred and forty three (1, 662, 443) residents had taken their full dozes.

Expressing concern, Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang pointed out that with just 51% of people availing themselves for at least one shot; the Ashanti Region was still far off the herd immunity benchmark of 70%.

“If you don’t achieve your herd immunity, it means that you are at risk of outbreaks. When you get your 70%, you are very certain that even if0020there is an outbreak, it will not be as major as we have seen in other countries. And even when you vaccinate and still get the disease, it’s likely that you will not have a severe condition,” he averred.

20 Districts

Twenty districts including three high-spreader-districts Oforikrom, Kumasi and Obuasi have been targeted for the six-day intensive vaccine drive beginning Wednesday, Feb 8.

The rest are Afigya Kwabere North, Afigya Kwabere south, Asokore Mampong, Asokwah, Atwima Kwanwoma, Atwima Nwabiagya, Atwima Nwabiagya North, Bekwai, Bosomtwe and Ejisu,

District Directors will be completing the loop in Kwabere East, Kwadaso, Obuasi East, Old Tafo, Sekyere East, Sekyere Central and Suame.

New Strategies

Ashanti Regional Health Director Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang pointed out that his outfit has mapped out strategies to reach out to the working class who rarely stay in their communities.

He mentioned that per their observations, several persons resided in some of the districts but spent a greater part of their days in the regional capital Kumasi because of work.

He told reporter Ivan Heathcote – Fumador, “We realized that if we do the vaccination in the day when a lot of them have gone to work, we wouldn’t get them in districts like Afigya Kwabere, Kwabere East and the like.”

“The strategy is to reschedule visits to weekends or evenings. We are also considering booking appointments with people who have taken their first doze because we have their contacts.”

Anti-Vaccine Campaigns

The health director observed that misinformation from anti-vaccination lobbyists and fear of the side effects of vaccination; remained a daunting hurdle to surmount.

He advised, “If you don’t look at the benefits but concentrate on the reactions, you will not be motivated to take the vaccine.”

“We also have a group that has been fighting vaccinations for a long time because they are paid to do so, especially on the internet. But you cannot leave immunization out of global health,” he insisted.

Ashanti falls behind the Greater Accra region among the regions with the highest incidents of the COVID-19 Infections in Ghana.