Enthusiasm for COVID-19 vaccines is steadily growing among the public in parts of the country, the Daily Graphic has observed.
Seven days into the month-long mandatory vaccination exercise, visits to some vaccination centres reveal that more people are accessing vaccination services, unlike the situation that pertained prior to the institution of the Vaccination Month, which will precede the implementation of a mandatory vaccination policy from January next year.
In Accra, Doreen Andoh visited centres at the Adabraka Polyclinic, the Kaneshie Polyclinic, the Kaneshie Market, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), the LEKMA Hospital and the West Hills Mall.
At the Kaneshie Polyclinic, many patrons were anxious to be vaccinated because the vaccines allocated for the day were almost exhausted.
The team also observed that the situation where vaccinators sat at the centres without anybody going to them to be vaccinated was gradually becoming a thing of the past.
Figures
Speaking with the Daily Graphic, the Head of Disease Control at the Okaikwei South Sub-Metro, Ms Priscilla Kyerewaa Twumasi, said within one week, the sub-metro had administered over 1,000 doses, as against an average of 50 doses a week previously recorded.
She explained that the rush to get vaccinated could be attributed to what people stood to lose if they failed to avail themselves of the jabs before January next year.
Based on the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), the Ministry of Health (MoH) has come up with a mandatory vaccination policy which will come into force in January next year.
Its implementation will start with selected groups of people and patrons of selected events and venues.
“People are afraid of being denied access to certain venues, services, workplaces, among others, so they are rushing to take the vaccines,” Ms Twumasi said. The MoH has indicated that there are enough vaccines to protect the population from COVID-19.
Vaccination month
The government has declared this month vaccination month to make vaccines available and bring them closer to the public.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) hopes to use the vaccination month as a platform to increase public awareness of the importance of vaccines.
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