THE World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo, has reiterated the need for Ghanaians to get vaccinated in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease across the country.
According to him, once one is vaccinated “you significantly limit the chain of spread, you protect others around you and even if you get infected with the COVID-19 virus, you are likely to develop a less severe form of the disease and may not require hospital admission, thus, helping reduce the patient load on the health system.”
The WHO Representative was speaking at the launch of the National COVID-19 immunisation days in Accra yesterday.
Commending the government for doing well in combating the pandemic so far, Dr Kasolo noted that Ghana still had a long way to go in its bid to achieve herd immunity and get over 20 million persons vaccinated.
“We still have a long way to go if we are to achieve the target of reaching over 20 million persons by the end of June 2022, as echoed by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he stated.
Dr Kasolo also bemoaned the high level of misinformation among the public and admonished the media to be advocates of the vaccines and circumspect in their reportage in order not to mislead the public.
Speaking on behalf of the United State (US) Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Stephanie Sanders Sullivan, the Acting Director of the USAID/Ghana Mission, Mrs Janean Davis, noted that the US government had provided Ghana with 30 million dollars from its COVID-19 relief fund to help in the fight of the disease.
Mrs Sullivan further indicated that the US till date had donated seven million dozens of vaccines to Ghana with half a million more expected in the coming weeks.
The US Ambassador pledged her country’s support for the campaign, adding that, “through the immunisation days, we will support the transportation of vaccines to the regions and districts till it reaches the last mile.”
Mrs Anne-Claire Dufay, Country representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a remark stressed the need to curb misinformation and disinformation on the COVID-19 vaccines to encourage massive uptake.
“Taking the vaccines do not only protect us but our families, friends, society and nation as a whole,” she advised.
BY SAMUEL GYASI ODURO