Mr. Mahama Asei Seini vaccinating a baby
The nationwide vaccination exercise against the Poliovirus by Ghana Health Service (GHS) through its Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) commences today.
The novel Oral Polio Virus Type 2 (nOPV2) vaccine is being deployed during this campaign which comes at no cost to beneficiaries.
It is aimed at stopping the local transmission of Poliovirus type 2, maintaining high population immunity, strengthening surveillance on Polio disease, and preventing further Polio outbreaks in the country.
The exercise, targeting 6 million children aged less than five years, will be conducted in two rounds, the first starting from 1st to 4th September 2022, and the second starting from 6th to 9th October 2022.
Deputy Minister of Health, Mahama Asei Seini, speaking at the launch of the exercise in Accra yesterday said the best protection against Polio is ensuring all children are vaccinated in routine and supplementary immunization campaigns.
He indicated that since the launch of the Polio type 2 Vaccine in March 2021, approximately 370 million doses have been administered across 21 countries.
“As a result, most countries using the vaccine have also managed to stop the transmission of the Circulating Vaccine Derive Polio Virus type 2,” he said.
EPI Programme Manager, Dr. Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, said the African sub-region has been battling a non-wild strain of the polio virus [the circulating Vaccine-Derived PolioVirus (cVDPV2)] since 2016 with Ghana recording its first events in July 2019.
He said the country confirmed three events of circulating vaccine-derived Polio Virus Type 2 from July to August 2019.
“Two from environmental surveillance samples from Northern Region (Koblimagu) and Greater Accra (Agbogbloshie) in July and August 2019 respectively. The first human case was confirmed in August 2019 in a child in Chereponi District (North East Region) who developed Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) or floppy lower limbs,” he said.
He said the country responded appropriately with at least two rounds of polio vaccination campaigns in 2019 and 2020, and heightened surveillance.
“It is important to note there was no detection of this strain of virus throughout 2021. The most recent detection of this virus was in July this year,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
