Over 700 children complete malaria vaccination in Cape Coast

The Cape Coast Metropolitan Health Directorate has so far immunised 732 children with the fourth dose of the RTS,S vaccine (Mosquirix), under the Malaria Vaccination Implementation Programme.

The fourth dose is the completion stage of the vaccination, and with other preventive measures like sleeping in insecticide treated nets, the children are protected against Controlled Human Malaria Parasite Infection.

Mr James Adu Poku, the Cape Coast Metro Disease Control Officer, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the vaccination for children between six months and two years was to help eradicate the disease and its burden on the society.

"It is an all-important exercise needed to be heeded by parents for the safety and good health of their little ones," he said.

Giving details of the data gathered, Mr Adu Poku said 307 children completed in July, 175 in August, and 250 in September with a total of 3,000 vaccines administered by the 27 health facilities in the Metropolis.

He urged parents whose children were yet to be vaccinated to send them to the health facilities to start the process and complete within the scheduled period to protect them against the severest form of the disease.

“We had some challenges when COVID-19 surged, parents refused to bring their children to be vaccinated thinking that the facilities were the households of the pandemic,” he said.

On the malaria preventive measures, Mr Adu Poku said his outfit was very active with the distribution of the Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITN) and had intensified malaria campaigns and larviciding exercises.

He urged policymakers to direct more resources to Indoor Residual Spraying, especially in communities and households where the use of LLITN was less likely to be effective.

The Malaria Vaccination Implementing Programme is a three-year immunisation initiative rolled out in 2019.

The RTS,S vaccine was recommended in 2016 by the World Health Organisation for pilot introduction in selected areas of three African countries: Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

It is being implemented in 42 districts across Ghana.