The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has implored Ghanaians to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to reduce the impact of another wave.
The Deputy General Secretary of the association, Dr Titus Beyuo, said a fourth wave could be dire for the country’s healthcare system and that, the vaccines were our best bet to save the situation.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times yesterday on the low uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in recent times, Dr Beyuo said, “now that cases are down is the best time to vaccinate to prevent another wave and we must take advantage of the presence of vaccines to do so.”
He cautioned that although the country had vaccines in stock, they had a short lifespan and“still not enough to help us attain our target for herd immunity so, now that we have the opportunity, we need to get vaccinated.”
“If we do not go for the vaccines now, we may not get it by the time cases are going up,” he said.
The Deputy General Secretary reminded the public that Ghana was not out of the woods yet adding that; “the trajectory of the virus appears to be seasonal and we do not know when the next wave will hit us, as already some countries are beginning to get a rise in number of cases.”
Dr Beyuo urged health authorities to step up vaccination campaigns especially at the local level to increase uptake, suggesting; “for instance, that vaccinators are deployed to the markets, churches, mosques, transport stations so that more people can take the vaccines and we can head towards immunity.”
He noted that as government continued to acquire more vaccines, the likelihood of enforcing measures to show proof of vaccination to access services was far-reaching.
“Showing proof of vaccination will at a point be inevitable in the country as we continue to get more vaccines, so I will admonish every Ghanaian to go out there and take their jabs to limit spread of the virus,” he urged.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it has received close to eight million vaccines so far and the administration of vaccines was ongoing across all districts of the country.
All persons 18 years and above with the exception of pregnant women are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
Persons who have received a first dose of vaccines are to present their COVID-19 card for a second dose on the due date while others who have never received a dose are to present a national ID card at vaccination centres.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
