Dr Ekow Otoo, the Eastern Regional Deputy Director of Ghana Health Service (GHS) in charge of public health says vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19 complications and its related deaths.
“The data we have now on COVID-19 speaks to the fact that the vaccines have been our saviour and a very potent tool in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday, dispelling myths about the vaccination.
He urged the public to ignore the myths and misinformation but rather go for the vaccines, saying, for the past six weeks Eastern region recorded an average of 20 cases.
He said the Ghana health directorate had taken delivery of over 100,000 doses of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines to be administered in all the 33 administrative districts in the region.
“We have the vaccines and are on course in achieving our target of vaccinating about 1.8 million people in the region,” he said.
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“Our concern now is getting the people to come out in their numbers to get their jabs. Some districts are doing well in participating in the vaccination exercise and others too are not up to the speed we expect.”
Dr Otoo said there was no iota of truth in what he described as conspiracy theories going around about the vaccines and urged the public to take it in their interest, adding that, it was good at a time when the COVID preventive protocols have been relaxed.
As of November 14, Eastern Region recorded a cumulative figure of 6,599 cases of COVID-19 that included 1,277 health workers and 822 students with 136 deaths, according to health officials.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service is calling on the public to adhere to the COVID preventive protocols of wearing facemasks, handwashing under running water and undertaking regular hand sanitising in addition to taking the vaccines.