Immunization Officer at World Health Organization

Ghana recorded the first cases of COVID-19 on the 12 March 2020 following the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 18 July 2021, the country had recorded 99,974 cases with a case fatality rate of 0.81% (818 deaths). All 16 regions have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the epicenter in the Greater Accra Region. The country instituted an all-of– government approach in response to the pandemic and this hinged on three core objectives of “Tracing, Testing and Treating”. Non-pharmaceutical interventions and large-scale public health and social measures (movement restrictions/lockdowns, physical distancing, hand and respiratory hygiene, use of face masks/coverings) were the mainstay for the control of the pandemic with accelerated global efforts largely coordinated by the WHO to develop safe and efficacious therapeutic agents and vaccines. The global concerted efforts led to the development of vacc...