About 500 hard-to-reach health facilities in the Ashanti Region will receive their Covid-19 vaccines through medical drone deliveries.

The partnership between Zipline and the government is to increase access to the vaccines in difficult-to-reach communities lacking cold-chain storage' facility.

The Asuofua Health Centre in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region was the first facility to benefit.

They took delivery of one thousand doses of the vaccine through a medical drone on Tuesday.

The first drone flew from Mpanya in Asante Mampong to Asuofia in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District, all in the Ashanti region.

At the Asuofua Health Centre, hospital and local assembly officials awaited the drone delivery.

After some minutes, the drone dropped the vaccine package. The Vaccination official in the company of security and other health officials took the package to the cold room for storage.

The Member of Parliament for the area, District Chief Executive and the District Health Director took turns to take their jabs.

Atwima Nwabiagya North MP, Benito Owusu-Bio, advised against spreading false information about the vaccine.

“It is just like the normal injection. Those who are going round making false information around this vaccination is not good, my advice to them is to desist from it.”

At the facility, four drones delivered 1,000 doses on Tuesday.

General Manager of Zipline Ghana, Naa Adorkor Yawson, says 11,000 doses will be delivered by the company.

“If you look at the hard-to-reach areas, transporting them by road often times become a big challenge because of the cold chain involved.

"…but with Zipline services and its support to the Ministry of Health, we ensure that there is equitable access of this product to even hard-to-reach areas.

"It is a very exciting moment for us, and we believe that by the end of the day we would have delivered 11,000 doses to various health facilities in the region”.

Meanwhile, there are mixed reactions among residents even after the public inoculation by the local leaders.

District Health Director, Dr Eric Sarpong, however, says churches and other local agencies have been engaged to help in public education.

“I will urge everyone to get involved because it [the vaccine] is in to protect us.

We have written letters to churches, the Information Service Centres and Education Service. So awareness have been created so that everyone will be aware and come in their numbers to be vaccinated”.

The District Chief Executive for the area, Rebecca Yeboah, advised the public to continue adhering to the protocols.

The drone service also prevents waste by sending the exact amount required by any facility.