The long-awaited deployment of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccines will begin on Wednesday, 19th May 2021.
The exercise, which is expected to last a week, will take place across the designated vaccination centres in the 43 districts across the country.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo disclosed this in his update number 25 on Sunday, May 16, 2021, on measures taken against the spread of the Coronavirus.
The exercise will come off approximately 12 weeks after the first jab.
The President indicated that the government has received an additional 350,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Vaccines through the COVAX facility.
This, he said, will be added to existing stock to provide the second jab for the 360,000 persons in the 43 districts in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central Regions, who received their first jabs from 1st to 9th March.
Since the arrival of the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility, together with the procurement and receipt of others, the vaccination rolled out in two phases.
The first phase involved vaccinating a segment of the population in the 43 districts and these include health workers, persons with co-morbidities, persons above the age of 60, physically challenged persons, journalists, frontline security personnel, and a cross-section of persons in the three arms of government.
Nearly a million people have now received the first dose of the vaccine with the second phase expected to cover all other health workers across the country.
The President explained that international vaccine politics and the unpredictability of the supply chain, as well as a third wave of infections in some countries in Europe and Asia, has made it impossible for the government to secure as many vaccines to vaccinate as many Ghanaians as expected.
He said, “In spite of these obstacles, the target is to vaccinate some twenty million Ghanaians, i.e., the entire adult population of Ghana, by the end of the year.”
“We are expecting an additional 300,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines, which have already been approved by the Food & Drugs Authority, to arrive in the country”
“As and when we make further progress in the acquisition of vaccines, the Ministries of Health and Information will make this known to you. We are making all efforts to achieve our overall vaccination target,” he assured.
President Akufo-Addo pointed to the devastation the virus is wreaking in Asia and South America and reiterated the government’s travel directive that all non-essential trips to countries with high COVID-19 infection rates be cancelled or postponed.
Government, he said, will continue to review these travel restriction measures to ensure the virus is not imported into the country to spark a third wave.
He revealed that the quality of checks and testing at the Kotoka International Airport have been re-evaluated to ensure satisfaction with the sensitivity and specificity of the testing following the reopening of the airport and reports of an increased number of passengers testing positive to COVID-19.
All arriving passengers who test positive, he said, will follow the laid down procedure and those who test negative from designated COVID-19 hotspots, and testing negative at KIA, may be subjected to a repeat test on the third day of arrival.
“Our fight against the virus, my fellow Ghanaians, is by no means over. The continuous havoc being experienced by some countries, as a result of the virus, is a testament to the fact that, until all countries have rid themselves of the virus, and have achieved herd immunity, none is safe.”
“So, let us all continue to adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols that are now part of our day-to-day activities,” he appealed.
Source: MyPublisher24.com