Some healthcare providers and volunteers in the ongoing 7th COVID-19 mass vaccination exercise in the Greater Accra region have appealed for megaphones to enable them to educate the public on the importance of the exercise.
Ms Leticia Addo, a vaccination team member, said the lack of megaphones was hampering their work and made the appeal through the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
The GNA visited the Ledzokuku Municipal Health Directorate, Tema Station Clinic, CLOSAG Polyclinic, and Nima Polyclinic centres to observe the vaccination exercise.
She said vaccine hesitancy continued to be a challenge, adding that the situation had become worse following the declaration that the pandemic was no longer a public health concern.
“People keep asking us why we are still administering the vaccines after the President has said that the virus is no more so, we are trying to educate them, but it has not been easy,” Ms Addo stated.
Meanwhile, the Ledzokuku Municipal Health Directorate told the GNA that it had dispatched 30 vaccination teams into communities within the Municipality.
The Directorate is targeting 7, 037 people to be vaccinated for the exercise as part of efforts to protect the citizenry, including first-time vaccination persons, those taking their second jab as well as boosters.
Ms Ruth Bayor, Disease Control Officer at the Ledzokuku Municipal Health Directorate, told the GNA that initial community mobilisation had been done to make the public aware of the exercise.
” We have had van announcements in the communities and distributed letters to stakeholders, organisations, and churches to support the exercise.”
Ms Bayor said the Municipality during the previous campaign attained 90 per cent of its target and that her outfit had been making follow-ups with calls to remind community members when their time was due for a second dose or for the booster.
The Disease Control Officer said though COVID-19 was no more a pandemic, surveillance was necessary hence, the vaccination campaigns.
She called for an improved social mobilisation drive to enable them to convince citizens of the importance of the vaccination.
There were little activities at the Tema Station Clinic, CLOSAG Polyclinic, and Nima Polyclinic centres.
Ms Louisa Nkrumah, a Senior Public Nurse staff at the Tema Station Clinic, encouraged all to go in for the covid-19 vaccines to protect their immune system, adding that the vaccine is safe, effective, and efficient.
The 7th national vaccination campaign is aimed at vaccinating at least 2 million citizens and runs from Wednesday, July 19 to Sunday, July 23, 2023.
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