Former Minister for Communications, Dr. Omane Boamah has urged the Akufo-Addo-led administration to publish an official vaccine rollout plan as the country readies to receive 19.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines at the end of June.

According to him, the lack of a clear plan for the vaccine rollout would be detrimental to the efficiency of the immunisation programme the government may want to undertake as citizens who qualify to be inoculated may miss out.

“It is also worrying because it deprives interested parties (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, public health and policy experts, journalists and Civil Society Organisations) the opportunity to make inputs, ask vital questions, and institute monitoring and evaluation systems to guide the process if they wish to do so,” he said in a Facebook post.

His urgent call for a vaccine rollout plan comes after the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Dr. Alexander Dodoo revealed that children, pregnant women, people with allergies and underlying health conditions, and the aged will not be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile Saturday, the Ghana Standards Authority boss said, “Normally for starters, children will not be included, they’re more protected and they’re not passing on the virus. Those with allergies, those with underlying health conditions, those whose immune system appears compromised will not be vaccinated.”

https://youtu.be/XffXPOHYmjo?t=4540

According to Dr. Boamah, such a revelation is shocking as the people being ruled out from the immunisation programme as stated by Dr. Alexander Dodoo should rather be prioritized to prevent more deaths.

“Mr. President, are they not within the domain of prioritised people in the United States of America?

“Why must mother Ghana deprive people with underlying medical conditions and the aged protection if there are no contraindications (i.e. medical reasons not to give the vaccine)?

“Respectfully, have we not heard time and again from you and other government officials that comorbidities contribute to Covid induced deaths? More questions than answers,” he said.

He therefore called on government to prevent any further errors in the fight against Covid-19 by publishing a vaccine plan.

“Mr. President, these are the reasons we need to have the Vaccine plan published in the interest of transparency and equity as we prepare to vaccinate Ghanaians against Covid-19,” he concluded.