Government explains modalities for administering 2nd COVID-19 jab

The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye, has given further details about the administration of the second dose of the Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Addressing the press in Accra, he said only persons who took the first dose between March 1 and March 9, are eligible to the take the second dose starting on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

He added that those who are yet to take the first jab will not be served in the upcoming exercise as efforts are underway to secure more doses of the vaccine for such persons.

“[This exercise is limited to] those who had their first vaccine between the 1st and 9th March…We are sending text messages and telling people who qualify [to go for their jabs]… We are currently trying to secure those who have their first dose, but a lot of effort is going on to bring in additional vaccine to start the first dose because the ultimate aim for the 20 million still exists, and that is what we are working on,” he said.

Dr. Kumah Aboagye advised persons who qualify for the second vaccination doses to visit the same centres they took the first jab to make the exercise smoother.

“We are advocating that you go to where you received your first dose. Go there with your card. Your card will be reviewed to look at the date you received your vaccination, and then it will be replaced. It will be replaced because we have made some changes with more enhanced features.”

On the new features, he said the new cards will have a QR code and a hologram on them to authenticate them.

A total of 360,000 persons in 43 districts of the country, 25 in the Greater Accra Region, 16 in the Ashanti Region and two in the Central Region, have been targetted to receive their second doses in this new exercise.

Over 852,000 have so far received the first jab.