COVID-19 Immunization in the Ashanti Region will begin on March 2

The Ashanti Regional Health Director, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang has assured residents that covid-19 vaccination will commence on March 2, 2021, and that people should ignore fake news and misconceptions surrounding the immunization and be available for the remedy when the time is due.

According to him, vaccination will start in the Greater Kumasi, which comprises 14 District including the Kumasi Metro itself, the Municipals, and some surrounding Districts to targeted groups in order of service as part of the roadmap.

“We will start with the frontline health workers and I believe you know the importance of it,” the Ashanti Regional Health Director, Emmanuel Tenkorang said.

“From there we move all person with chronic diseases, and also focus on our security agencies and then look at the executives. Last but not the least, persons over 60 years before the rest will be followed. Students, teachers, media are all part of the road maps.

“From now to March 2 that we will start with a vaccination. Every person who will be vaccinated will have a database.

“So, we will need your national IDs. It can be your recent voter ID card, or the National ID or a passport, so we can capture that number and then use it as part of a unique ID that will be for you and your name will go into our database so that in the near future you will need a security certificate or any other thing, maybe you want to travel and they will request your status, we can generate any information from that database,” he added.

Ghana received the delivery of coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, February 24 2021, as 600,000 AstraZeneca shots landed in a plane from Serum Institute of India as part of the global effort to boost vaccine access.

The media were addressed by the Regional Health Directorate to solicit support by putting right the misconceptions surrounding the vaccine. He exposed that people have concocted theories concerning the substance prepared to provide immunity against the coronavirus, which has generated fear and panic in lots of Ghanaians as many have reversed interest in the immunization process.

The Director of the Ashanti Regional Directorate has assured through a press conference on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, that vaccination is no new thing hence the need to do away with the erroneous beliefs and embrace the covid-19 shot.

“One thing I want to assure you is that vaccination is not new in Ghana. Through vaccination, we were able to eradicate so many diseases. If you will remember, recently, we talked about measles, and the incident has gone down. We did it through vaccination.

“We've also vaccinated so many people using the yellow fever vaccine. And those of you in Kumasi will remember recently when we had the outbreak of H1N1 in Kumasi Academy. We vaccinated, the students, the process is the same.

“The way vaccines are manufactured, the way they act, and other things are the same. In Ghana, we've embarked on an expanded programme on Immunization. And we've done this since 1978, and it’s the work of Ghana health service. So as far as immunization is concerned in this country that’s nothing new.

He assured that people should trust in the fitting function of the Health Directory and the safety of the covid 19 vaccine and partake in the immunization process for the successful fight against the novel pandemic.

“The Minister of Health and Ghana health service have the capacity to do that (immunize) because that is our job, and we've been doing it all the time. So I don't think we will have any challenge, as far as immunization is concerned.

"The only challenge we will have is for an average Ghanaian to buy into the immunization program so that all the target group can be vaccinated, so as to protect Ghanaians, and then to protect our communities from COVID and its attendant problems."

He finally called unto the media to support the course by means of their various platforms to encourage Ghanaians to partake in the immunization process.

“This is the area that we need the support of the media because you carry the message and so if you carry the right message, people will buy to it and accept it.”