Dr. John Ekow Otoo, the Deputy Director of Public Health and Incident Manager for COVID-19 at the Eastern Regional Ghana Health Service, has revealed that 904,696 people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Eastern Region. This number accounts for 46.2 percent of a target group of 1.9 million individuals aged 15 and above in the region.

Dr. Otoo shared this information with the Ghana News Agency during an interview to assess the current COVID-19 vaccination status and recorded cases in the region as of May 26, 2024, and June 9, 2024, respectively.

He stated that 1,227,526 individuals, representing 62.6 percent of the targeted population, had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Out of those fully vaccinated, 420,770 had received the booster dose to provide them with additional protection against COVID-19.

Dr. Otoo explained that the Eastern Regional Health Directorate had received 1,704,400 doses of AstraZeneca, 1,065,150 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, 807,900 doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen, and 122,640 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, which were distributed to healthcare facilities.

He mentioned that a total of 2,238,459 doses of the four vaccines had been administered; however, 171 individuals experienced Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI), including 165 severe cases and 6 mild cases.

AEFI refers to unintended medical reactions caused by vaccination for immunization, which can range from mild to severe.

Of the 171 recorded cases of AEFI, 56 percent were females and 44 percent were males, reporting symptoms such as headaches, abscesses, severe local reactions, fevers above 38 degrees Celsius, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Other reported complaints included painful ribs, nausea, loss of appetite, malaise, anaphylaxis, general body pains, and muscle pains as of March 31, 2024.

As of June 9, 2024, the region had reported 65 COVID-19 cases, with three active cases in the New Juaben South Municipality.

Dr. Otoo acknowledged the efforts of healthcare workers in vaccinating the target population but highlighted challenges such as misinformation and myths surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, which hindered achieving the vaccination target.

He urged citizens who had not yet received the vaccine doses to do so in order to protect themselves from contracting COVID-19, as the virus remained present in the community.

Immunization stands as one of the most crucial public health measures for preventing and reducing morbidity and mortality in all societies and countries.

Source by www.ghanaweb.com