Covid-19 Vaccination: Wise up! and get vaccinated now!

By Theresa Owusu Ako

Covid-19, the disease which brought the world to its knees 2 years ago. It killed many people, devastated economies and shattered social life. No country has been spared of the disease.

According to the WHO, as of January 2022 all countries in the world have reported at least a case of the disease with over 360 million people infected and 5.6 (Five point 6) million deaths recorded.

Covid-19 caused researchers and scientists globally sleepless nights as they continued researching and coordinating efforts as never before to roll out a vaccine to help contain the disease. People became skeptical about the speed with which a vaccine was developed for Covid-19 which was unusual for the long development of other vaccines.

Thank God there are a lot of Covid-19 vaccines today and people have a choice and are even bluffing as to which jab to go in for. Ghana recorded its first two cases simultaneously on March 12, 2020 just a day after the WHO declared Covid-19, a pandemic. Hell, nearly broke loose as fear gripped the nation with some believing and others doubting its existence. The doubting Thomas’s began generating conspiracy theories, deceiving and misinforming ignorant people all around and on social media with its boomerang effect. And this has persisted till now. Before the vaccine was developed, the only best bet for Covid-19 prevention was the face mask, keeping distance and hand hygiene.

Ghana began the deployment of vaccines in March 2020 with the first 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca Vaccines under the Covax facility. People became anxious when there was a limited number of vaccines. Now that there are enough vaccines there is hesitancy due to rumours, misconceptions and misinformation. Ghana initially targeted to vaccinate 20 million citizens as of December 2021 but that was not to be. The Ghana Health Service puts the figure of persons fully vaccinated at 3,594,345 which is 18% of 20m. Persons receiving at least one dose is 7,262,928 which is 36.3% of 20 million and those receiving booster doses are 1,468. This means Ghana missed its 20 million target for 2021 with 13.2 million people still unvaccinated and 3.7 million partially vaccinated.

The Ghana Health Service on Wednesday February 2 to February 6 Friday rolled up its sleeves for an intensified and aggressive Covid-19 nationwide vaccination drive to boost coverage. Dubbed “Operation 2.5 million doses in 5 days”, the strategy aims at capturing 2.5 million out of the 13.2 million unvaccinated and 20% of the same in 2 weeks. The good news is that the Health Ministry has announced a new policy on the Covid-19 Vaccination directing the vaccination of pregnant women and the administration of booster doses. The policy also includes persons 15 years and above. The policy dispels the greatest unfounded rumour on reproductive health and the jab. It says the Covid-19 vaccine can help protect pregnant women from the disease and its associated complications.

Indeed, it notes that Covid-19 vaccination is recommended for persons who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future. The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group recommends that pregnant women should be offered Moderna or Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines according to the existing primary vaccination schedule. It is surprising that some groups which demonstrated for the country’s borders to be reopened are on record as the worst culprits of vaccine hesitancy. If herd immunity is not achieved how can such a request be honoured because no one is safe until everyone is safe. It is necessary at this point to say NO to misinformation and seek the right information from the right sources. Aside from taking the jab it is necessary to continue observing the existing protocols, that is wearing of masks, washing of hands, and social distancing. The objective to vaccinate 20% of the unvaccinated within 2 weeks using innovative ways calls for a “chooboi” action, and concerted effort from everyone to be lost from the grips of Covid-19, gain our freedom and live healthy to the glory of God. If you haven’t heard a Covid-19 death cry in your home, don’t speculate that the disease doesn’t exist.

Wise up! and get vaccinated now. The vaccines are safe, effective and free.