Ghana to adopt polio vaccination strategy for coronavirus – Agyeman-Manu

Answering questions during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, February 10, Mr. Agyeman-Manu said Ghana’s vaccination method has seen a 95 percent penetration and has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

To that end, he said, the country does not intend to reinvent the wheel in trying to use a different approach when the Covid-19 vaccines eventually arrive in the country.

“One thing that Ghanaians should be proud of is that we have a very robust immunization programme that sits within the Ghana Health Service.

“It has a structure that reaches everywhere in this country. As I speak, our traditional vaccinations in terms of polio and all that, by the WHO assessment, we are doing 95% coverage in our country.

“So when we started developing the vaccine strategy for Covid-19 vaccination, we thought it wise not to reinvent any wheel by continuing to rely on what is good for us.

“So, if you look at the strategy when it is fully completed, you will see that we are using Ghana Health Service infrastructure to actually do the vaccinations for Covid,” he told the Committee.

He further revealed that officials to handle the vaccines are currently undergoing training to prepare them ahead of the vaccination.

“We have started training those who will be doing vaccination for Covid so that immediately we get the stocks, we can move in quickly to do our vaccinations,” he said.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo revealed on Sunday, January 31 in his 23rd update to the nation that the coronavirus vaccines will arrive in Ghana by March this year.

“…By the end of June, 17,600,000 vaccine doses would have been procured for the Ghanaian people. The earliest vaccine will be in the country by March.”