COVID-19 has left a generation scarred in its wake. From the lingering economic effects, such as the disruptions to supply chains across the world to the apprehension whenever an unmasked person sneezes, especially, in an enclosed space, the impact is undeniable.
Ghana’s response to COVID-19 was heralded globally for being swift and comprehensive, and in many ways, it was. Restrictions on movement in the earliest days, which were characterized by gross uncertainty, the mandatory wearing of masks in public spaces and support for business were all enforced fairly well.
These measures, in part, kept the total number of positive cases to approximately 171,000 – 0.54 percent of the population, using the 2021 Housing and Population Census – and a mortality rate of 0.85 percent (1,460). This compares favorably, for instance, with the 4.03 million cases recorded among South Africa’s 60 million, where, unfortunately, 102,000 persons died from the illness as of August 2022.
Vaccines injection
The most important component of the fight against the virus is undoubtedly the vaccines, which one study found that between December 2020, and December 2021, saved an additional 14.4 to 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries.
Acutely aware that successful deployment could, among other things, improve the mental and emotional well-being of the citizenry, decrease morbidity and mortality, and minimize disruptions to social and economic functions, managers of the pandemic response developed a National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP).
This was executed by applying the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE’s) framework for the allocation and prioritization of vaccination.
Under this framework, the government had to ensure the provision of cold chain equipment (CCEs) across health centres in the country. In addition, vaccination safety protocols, such as infection prevention and waste disposal were adhered to, even as vaccines were administered in phases; targeting the most vulnerable and the most exposed.
On this front, Ghana was again at the fore of its peers, when in February 2021, it made history by becoming the recipient of the first batch of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines under the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility.
The initiative bore fruit as the nation has recorded a modest vaccination rate despite instances of hesitancy, mostly spurred by conspiracy theories. Official data indicates that some 14.9 million doses of the vaccines have been administered, meaning, 65 percent of eligible persons have had at least one shot, with 27.6 percent, being fully vaccinated.
