Kumasi, The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has begun another round of COVID-19 vaccination exercise in all the 43 districts in the Region.
The five-days exercise, which began on April 21, is seeking to vaccinate 400,000 people who have never been vaccinated or are yet to complete the vaccination series.
Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Regional Director of Health Services, told a press briefing in Kumasi that all persons, especially 15 years and above, and pregnant women were eligible to take the jab.
Giving a breakdown of the number of people being targeted in the various districts, Dr Tinkorang said the Directorate was targeting schools, corporate institutions, religious groups as well as keep fit clubs at their appointed locations at no cost to them.
He said the region in the last three weeks had not recorded any new case of the virus adding that currently, cumulative case count stood at 22,299 with 389 deaths.
Dr. Tinkorang said vaccinating the population against the viral disease was critical to the fight against the pandemic and encouraged the public to take advantage of the vaccination exercise.
In Ashanti Region, he said only 30 per cent of the target population were fully vaccinated, adding that “we need to ensure that at least 70 per cent of the target population were fully vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to reduce the risk of surge in the event of importation into our country and region.”
He cautioned the public to continue wearing the face mask even though it was not mandatory, and encouraged the public to exercise good judgement and observe the safety protocols, especially in situations where the risk of disease transmission was significant.
They should avoid crowded places, observe physical distancing and personal hygiene in situations where crowding cannot be avoided.
DrTinkorang encouraged employers and event organizers to ensure safety of their workers and customers by maintaining hygiene standards with minimal inconveniences for all.
He encouraged the public to access the health facilities when the need arises and avoid delays, saying that “the facilities were safe and the risk of getting infected was more than four times lower compared with the community.”
Dr Tinkorang admonished the public to walk into the wellness clinics for routine health screening including blood pressure measurement and health counselling.
Source: Ghana News Agency
