The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has taken delivery of 153,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines ahead of the second COVID-19 vaccination exercise scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 19.

Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Regional Director of Health Services, who announced this to the media in Kumasi, said the directorate was targeting all those who took the first dose between March 2nd and 9th, this year.

“If you were vaccinated within this period, kindly go to the facility where you were given the first dose with your vaccination card because without it you will not be immunized,” he emphasized.

He said it was important to take the second dose to complete the vaccination and build a strong immunity to protect them from the high mortality that is associated with COVID-19.

He gave the assurance that the vaccine was safe and protective and urged the general public to disregard all the conspiracy theories about its efficacy.

Touching on the COVID-19 situation in the Region, Dr. Tinkorang said a total of 15,568 cases was recorded out of which 15,280 had recovered with 253 deaths.

He said the Region currently had 35 active cases in 11 districts, with Kumasi Metro leading with 11 cases.

He entreated the public to continue observing the hygiene protocols whether they had taken the vaccine or not.