Government has rolled out the Johnson and Johnson vaccine
Ghanaguardian.com understands that the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is targeting only the hottest of hot spots in the country.
According to the Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, having a limited 177,600 doses of vaccines to deploy requires one to be strategic, hence only eleven (11) districts are targeted for now, “seven (7) in Greater Accra [and] four (4) in the Ashanti region.”
“We are sending it to where we will get the most desired impact.”
“We looked at our data and focused on districts that are considered to be hotspots, there are several hotspots but there are some that are the hottest of the hotspots and these are the ones we are engaging with”, he added in an interview with Joynews’ Isreal Laryea on the AM show, as monitored by Ghanaguardian.com
Dr Amponsa-Achiano also indicated that the plan is to look at population segment during the exercise which is officially expected to start on Monday 16th August, therefore the aged, persons with underlying health conditions, as well as health workers who have not been vaccinated yet will be given their jabs before it is trickled down to the rest of the population.
He said the various districts will fashion out modalities in terms of communications and other stakeholder engagements to ensure the success of the exercise.
The four areas considered in the Ashanti region are the Asokwa Municipality, Kumasi Metropolis, Kwadaso Metro and Oforikrom Municipality, while the seven areas considered in the Greater Accra region, include Ablekuma Central, Accra metro, and Adenta.
The others are Ga South, Okaikwei, Tema Metropolis and Kpone-Katamanso
Meanwhile at a Press Conference on Friday, August 13, the Greater Accra Regional Director of Health, Dr Charity Sarpong urged persons within the trageted areas to take advantage and get themselves vaccinated.
“We would like to encourage all the people within these districts that we are talking about to take advantage of this opportunity and get themselves vaccinated in addition to observing the safety protocols. We believe that all these measures will protect us all as we continue to fight this covid 19 pandemic.