Ghana Health Service starts administering Johnson and Johnson vaccines

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun administering the Johnson and Johnson vaccines.

The Manager of Expanded Programme on Immunization, Dr Kwame Amponsah Achiano in an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show Friday, said the exercise will begin in the Ashanti Region today, August 13, whilst that of Greater Accra Region will commence on Monday, August 16.

A total of 11 districts in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions have been selected by the Service for the vaccination exercise.

Clarifying, Dr Achiano said seven districts in the Greater Accra Region and four in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis have been chosen.

“You know, if you have 177, 600 vaccines to share, you have to be strategic. So, we are going to the most desired and impacted. It is not something we will spread across.

“If we spread across, it is not going to help. So we considered districts that are considered to be hotspots,” he told host Israel Laryea.

Asokwa, Kumasi Metropolitan, Kwadaso and Oforikrom are District Assemblies selected by GHS to receive the vaccines in the Ashanti Region.

In the Greater Accra Region; Ablekuma Central, Accra Metropolitan, Adentan, Ga South, OkaiKwei North, Tema Metro, and Kpone Katamanso have been selected.

Dr Achiano further added that people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine are exempted from this vaccination exercise.

Government took delivery of the 177, 600 doses of the vaccines on Saturday, August 7, as part of the first batch of the Africa Union’s African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

So far, 405,971 have been fully vaccinated by receiving both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, whilst 865,422 have received only the first dose.

Ghana has confirmed 109,022 cases of the virus, and currently has 6,765 cases with 892 deaths.