By Edward Acquah
Accra, July 26, GNA – On the banks of the Korle Lagoon resides a community of scrap dealers, many of whom have been living along the deserted area for decades.
Wooden and other makeshift structures sprawl along the Lagoon, which has become home to more than 5,000 inhabitants – many of whom have migrated from the Northern part of the country to Accra in search of greener pastures.
The smoking of cigarette is a common sight. To the people, the “aroma” from the cigarette helps to “purify” the air and tone down the stench from the Lagoon.
The people appear unconcerned about their health as their interest lies in the quest for survival.
Here, the people hold varied opinions about COVID-19. Whereas some believe the virus “doesn’t exist” others somewhat hold the view that their conditions have propelled them to build some imaginary immunity over the virus.
“I can dive into this polluted Lagoon, swim for days and nothing will happen to me. The germs in this water are far more dangerous than the virus. If we have survived this, then we can overcome any other virus,” Hafiz Razak said, while sipping a drink on the bank of the Lagoon.
In random interactions with some of the inhabitants, it was gathered that the perception that the virus was “harmless” had fuelled a general lack of interest among the people in taking the COVID-19 vaccines.
Misconceptions about the vaccines, including the fear that taking the jabs could result in sterility, appeared to have resonated with the people.
“My father has asked my brothers not to take the vaccine. We saw in a video online that the vaccines were one of the ways to reduce Africa’s population,” Habiba, a petty trader, said.
The sense of insecurity about the COVID-19 vaccines among some slum dwellers seemed to be a common phenomenon.
In separate interviews with some residents of Old Fadama and Agbogbloshie, suburbs of Accra, which serve as homes to an estimated 79, 000 inhabitants, some respondents expressed concern that the vaccine could have long-term consequences on their health.
Hamza, who has been living at Old Fadama for 12 years, took the COVID-19 vaccine last year in compliance with a compulsory vaccination policy at his workplace.
He said although he initially cast doubts about the safety of the vaccines, he had not had any side effects a year on.
Hamza said more sensitisations would be required to change the perception of his neighbours on the safety and efficiency of the vaccines.
“When my brother saw that nothing happened to me after taking the vaccine, he also took it,” he said.
The George Holy Community Clinic, situated at Old Fadama, provides primary healthcare services to thousands of residents in the area.
Sources at the Clinic said it had over the past one year referred about 20 suspected cases of COVID-19 to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for testing – and about half of them tested positive for the virus.
The source said many residents in the area “are hesitant” to take the vaccines even when they were referred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
“We don’t have the capacity to test or vaccinate, so we refer them to Korle-Bu. Those who take the vaccines are persons who travel to the desert. They just need the vaccination cards for their trip,” the source said.
The source said the Clinic was ready to partner the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to sensitise the community members to help change their perception.
“Right now, we cannot do any sensitisation because we do not have the vaccines,” the source said.
Vaccine hesitancy has been identified as a major impediment to achieving COVID-19 vaccination targets in Africa.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines vaccine hesitancy as “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines.”
The WHO has indicated that vaccination rates must increase sixfold if the continent is to reach the 70 per cent coverage target set for the end of the first semester of 2022.
As of June 30, 2022, Ghana had administered a total of 17,409,005, out of which 7, 510,586 (32.9 per cent) were fully vaccinated, with 1,192,595 receiving the first booster dose, latest data from the GHS showed.
The country has targeted vaccinating 20 million of the population to achieve herd immunity – but some health professionals fear the target may not be achieved if the issue of vaccine hesitancy was not addressed.
At a press conference in Accra on June 20, 2022, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) expressed concern that out of about 200,000 health workforce in the public sector, nearly 80,000, representing 40 per cent were yet to receive a second dose of vaccination.
The Associations proposed the deployment of risk communication strategies and community engagement to address the issues of disinformation, myths, and misconception surrounding COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the country.
In an interview, Dr Kwame Amponsah-Achiano, the Programme Manager, Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), GHS, said vaccines hesitancy had taken “a big role” in the country’s vaccination drive.
He said the Service was working “religiously” to address the problem through radio and community sensitisation, and sending the vaccines to the doorstep of the people.
“17 million people have come to take the vaccines. We still have pockets here and there especially those that feel they are not at risk,” Dr Amponsah-Achiano said.
Out of 17,409,005 Covid-19 vaccines that have been administered to Ghanaians, 10, 096, 925 are AstraZeneca 17,982 are Sputnik-V, Moderna, has 1,065,357, whiles Pfizer-BioNTech has 3,910,669, with Janssen having 2,318,072 vaccines, he added.
According to the WHO, vaccination currently prevents 2-3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global coverage of vaccinations improved.
A 2020 report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) indicated that about two out of five of the population live in slums.
As the country ramps up its vaccination efforts, health authorities must deepen their reach and engagement in slum communities to help reduce misconceptions about vaccines among that population.
GNA