The EKMA Health Directorate is embarking on another round of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns starting today, Wednesday, September 20, 2023, and ending on Sunday, September 24, 2023.
These campaigns are aimed at reaching people who have not had full doses of the vaccine.
Speaking at a media briefing, Mrs. Joyce K. Bagina, the Director of the Municipal Health Directorate of EKMA, says a team of health personnel will come around with the routine childhood vaccinations to vaccinate children under five years who may have missed out on usual vaccinations due to the nationwide shortage.
“The aim is to help reach all those who have not taken full doses. We are supposed to take first, second and then the booster and even there’s a second booster of the dose that people can take but when we look at our statistics, we are not yet at where we are supposed to reach which is 90% and that’s why we continue to do the campaign almost every month or every other month “
But this time around, there’s a little addition to the COVID-19 vaccination. We are also going to use the opportunity to add childhood vaccinations to the teams so that when they go and meet a child who has missed out on any of those childhood vaccinations, they can vaccinate them as well,”
” So the adults will be taking the COVID-19 vaccination that is, 18 years and above and then children who are under 5 years will take their usual vaccinations, that is, the usual vaccinations that we give to them,” She said.
Mrs Joyce Bagina says records of people who have been vaccinated are still low, and there’s a need to continue with the vaccination campaign to achieve herd immunity.
” So far we have been able to vaccinate 75, 622 that’s 71.9% of the people who are supposed to take the COVID-19 vaccinations instead of 90%.
With the second dose only 43% have taken it meaning a lot of people have taken the first dose but not taken the second dose and we are trying to reach them. As for the booster, it’s only 13 % that’s why we continuously do this campaign because COVID-19 is still there,”
Madam Bagina advised the public to avail themselves of the exercise.
Story by Bernice Mensah
