A baby being administered with the IPV
About one million Ghanaian children less than five years will receive the second dose of polio vaccine throughout the country from June 1.
The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), to be given through injection to babies within 14 weeks and older, in addition to the oral polio vaccine (OPV) during their routine immunization, is expected to better protect children from all polio diseases.
The introduction of the IPV, to be administered at all vaccination centres, is also to ensure that substantial proportions of the Ghanaian population are protected against Type 2 polio virus and reduce risks of an outbreak after Type 2 OPV vaccine withdrawals.
Announcing this at an official launch of the programme in Accra yesterday, Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu explained that the decision by government and development partners to add the IPV to the country’s routine immunization forms part of efforts to accelerate the global eradication of polio and help prevent a resurgence of the disease.
He said although OPV has been and continues to be the primary tool in the global polio eradication effort, adding one dose of IPV to multiple does of OPV is the most effective method to stop the virus and protect children.
“The introduction of IPV globally also paves the way for the eventual withdrawal of all OPV once poliovirus transmission is stopped in the few remaining polio-affected countries,” he said.
Dr George Bonsu, Programme Manager of Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), stated that Ghana currently has 93 percent vaccine coverage for 13 vaccine preventable diseases.
He said 50 polio campaigns using the routine OPV have been undertaken so far, with nearly 200 million doses of OPV administered since the country began routine immunization in 1978.
Dr Bonsu mentioned that administering the vaccine in addition to other vaccines is safe as it has been used in many other countries around the world.
Dr Owen Kaluwa, WHO country representative, commended government for the initiative, which is a key milestone in the path towards polio eradication.
Ghana has gone nine conservative years without a single case of polio and has, thus, been certified polio-free by the WHO, but Dr Kaluwa highlighted that the threat still exists, “therefore we must sustain our vigilance against polio to ensure that indeed we continue to remain polio-free.”
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri