Polio vaccination kicks off in June

Children in the Ashanti region eligible for polio vaccination will be administered with vaccines in June this year.

Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) will be administered instead of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

The IPV is a newly introduced vaccine by GHS to be administered through injection.

Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Ashanti Regional GHS Director, said the IPV is more effective than the OPV which was being used previously.

"Because the oral one was live attenuated vaccine, it is part of the vaccines that usually can cause side effects compared to what we are going to introduce now.

"So, in terms of the safety profile what we are introducing now is better and safer than what we've been using previously which is the oral vaccine," he told the media at a press conference held on Monday, 28 May 2018 in Kumasi.

He said it is part of the GHS agenda to eradicate and achieve a lasting polio-free country.

He indicated that over 200,000 children below 12 months are expected to be vaccinated in the region within 14 weeks.

He said the vaccine will be administered at all the GHS immunisation points in the region.

He, therefore, entreated parents to make their children available to be vaccinated to protect their wards thereby helping the GHS to achieve their aim of eradicating polio.