Beginning in January of next year, all commercial drivers and motorcycle riders will have their vaccination cards scrutinized by authorities to ensure that they have had the COVID-19 vaccine.
Employees of all government institutions and health facilities will also be denied access to their workplaces if they do not provide their vaccination certificates, and any time spent away from work for this reason would result in a loss of pay.
All secondary and postsecondary students aged 15 and up, as well as all teaching and non-teaching personnel, are required to be vaccinated before the start of the next academic year.
All patrons and employees of restaurants, stadiums, beaches, and nightclubs are required to be vaccinated and present proof of vaccination before entering these establishments.
The arrangements are part of an obligatory vaccination strategy that began yesterday and will be implemented in January of next year, following the government's declaration of December as National Vaccination Month.
Based on the results of the pilot, the required vaccination program will be expanded in stages to cover more categories.
Vaccination Awareness Month
Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the Minister of Health, stated the details as he started the National Vaccination Month in Accra yesterday.
He explained that declaring December as National Vaccination Month was done to allow persons who would be affected by the mandatory vaccine policy, as well as the general public, to get vaccinated before the policy's implementation in January 2022.
"Under the original implementation of the mandatory vaccine policy, specific segments of the population, as well as patrons and employees of particular recreational and sporting venues, were required to get vaccinated," he explained.
All government and parastatal employees, health-care workers, commercial drivers and riders, security personnel, and students and teaching and non-teaching staff at all secondary and higher institutions are included in the groupings.
"Modalities for strict execution have been established, and as part of them, the police will verify vaccination certificates as well as commercial drivers' and riders' driver's licenses.
"Workers of all government institutions, health facilities, and educational facilities will not be allowed into such workplaces without vaccination certificates, and absence from work for this reason will result in a worker's income being withheld," the Minister of Health stated.
Take precautions.
"Protect yourself, protect your family, and be vaccinated immediately against COVID-19," was the focus of the event.
Ministers, traditional and religious leaders, development partners, and other stakeholders were among those who attended.
Implementation
Mr Agyeman-Manu stated that the government, in partnership with other stakeholders, has enough vaccinations on hand to vaccinate at least 20 million people by the end of the year.
As a result, he urged the public to be calm and take advantage of the vaccination month campaign as well as the influx of vaccinations into the country, which had been delivered to everyone's doorstep, to get vaccinated.
"Let me use this occasion to reassure the public that all vaccines now in use in the country — Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer — have gained local and international approval, ensuring that they are safe and effective," he said.
All of the free vaccines, he claimed, provided variable but adequate protection against all COVID-19 variations, hospitalization, and mortality.
"Vaccines are lifesavers!" The value of immunization in health cannot be overstated. The single most critical public health issue is self-evident.
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