A total number of 20,359,448 Ghanaians have been vaccinated as at October 20, 2022, on the COVID-19 Situation data dashboard.

10,449,734 individuals have received the AstraZeneca vaccine, 18,368 individuals have received the Sputnik-V vaccine, 1,065,357 persons have also received the Moderna vaccine, with 5,534,776 individuals receiving the Pfizer-BioNtECH vaccine; and 3,291,213 persons vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine by Janssen.

According to the Covid-19 Situation Data dashboard, people who have received at least 1 dose of the vaccine are about 11,837,495, which is 37.3% of the total population.

People who have been fully vaccinated are 8,758,799, which is 27% of the total population. Individuals who received the first booster dose are 2,329,799.

COVID-19 vaccinations reveal that vaccinators spent not more than ten (10) minutes at vaccinations centres all over Ghana after accessing citizens' experience.

Similarly, an investigation of Ghana's compliance with the National Vaccination Deployment Plan (NVDP) reveals that access to COVID-19 vaccines among vulnerable groups and eligible individuals is promising but can be improved.

The monitoring, which was carried out by SEND Ghana with funding from the Partnership for Transparency Fund, also revealed that the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers, teachers, and people with comorbidities was impressive.

According to Madam Anita Awuku, Programme Coordinator, SEND Ghana, who disseminated findings of the assessment in Accra on Thursday, October 27th, said the monitoring showed that generally, satisfaction with the vaccination process was very high.

However, there were some significant gaps in educating clients about the COVID-19 vaccine, potential side effects and how to deal with them, and screening for contraindications to the vaccine.

According to the assessment, the majority of vaccination centres provided hand hygiene facilities, such as alcohol-based sanitizers, and separate waiting areas for vaccine recipients to rest and be temporarily monitored for any immediate adverse effects.

It was discovered that vaccination centres strictly adhered to infection prevention and control measures during vaccination sessions and that all the centres were clean.

Vaccine carriers had enough conditioned ice packs, and most healthcare workers practised hand hygiene.

The assessment suggested that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) hold NDVP refresher sessions for its staff.

It stated that health directors should be encouraged to maintain vaccine uptake promotion efforts in order to contribute to herd immunity.

“Health promotion efforts for the COVID-19 vaccination exercise and subsequent vaccination exercises should adequately address possible side effects and safety, as these are key for vaccine uptake,” the monitoring report said.

The assessment requested that the Ministry of Health and the GHS increase Cold Chain Equipment (CCE) and vaccine logistics across districts.

Source: The Independent Ghana