According to the government, Ghana has no official obligatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
“There is no current mandate requiring mandatory vaccine rollouts within the country,”
according to the Government
It was first stated in a letter dated January 18, 2022, in response to a petition by a group of doctors who were opposed to the government’s implementation of a widespread vaccination campaign as one of the most effective ways to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health, wrote in a letter that the vaccination campaign was necessary because “there was a clear evidence of the public health impact of vaccination in terms of infections, hospitalizations, deaths prevented and improved health outcomes that cannot simply be brushed aside.”
In a separate letter to the President, same doctors expressed their worries about the vaccine campaign, pointing out that the government’s statement that vaccination was not necessary was contrary to Ghana Health Service regulations.
“In your response, you declare that no present governmental requirement necessitating forced vaccination rollouts across the country.”
Contrary, this appears to be in conflict with remarks made by the Ghana Health Director-General.
In November 2021, he declared at a press conference that the government would run a vaccination campaign in December, following which the vaccine will be required for all government employees, including health professionals, commercial drivers, security officers, secondary and tertiary education staff.
Everything was affirmed at a press conference held by the Ministry of Information on January 19, 2022, where representatives of the Ghana Health Service, including the Director-General himself, provided policy updates on vaccine strategies, reiterating the government’s commitment to make the COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for certain groups of people, and expanding the COVID-19 vaccination program to include pregnant women.
According to Ministry of Health data, as of January 27, 2022, 3, 543,312 people had been completely vaccinated, representing 17.7% of the population, while 7,221,427 (36.1%) of the population had gotten the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 1,161 people had gotten their first booster dosage, according to the statistics.
Above all these, the Ghana Health Service also launched a five-day countrywide vaccination campaign on Monday, January 31, in an effort to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The National Vaccination Days campaign will take place from February 2 to 6, 2022.
The initiative, dubbed “Operation 2.5 million doses in five days,” aims to reach at least 20% of the 13.2 million people who are still unvaccinated. The vaccination is available to all persons aged 15 and above, including pregnant women.
