Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, former Communications Minister under the erstwhile John Mahama NDC government, has come out in defense of health officials who administered the COVID-19 vaccine jab to President Akufo-Addo, his Vice, and their spouses on March 1, 2021.
Social media had been in a frenzy of activities with people’s reactions on why health officials did not wear gloves to administer the Covid-19 jab to the first and second families as the world is observing strict adherence to the coronavirus pandemic safety protocols.
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Many expressed shock and said it was not hygienic to inject with bare hands instead of wearing protective gloves. Their beef was that it also puts a blot on the fight against the conspiracy theories surrounding the vaccine’s efficacy against the deadly virus.
But in defense of the health workers, Dr. Omane Boamah indicated that it is not compulsory to wear gloves to give a jab and that it was a normal practice in many jurisdictions where mass vaccinations are administered.
According to him, the health workers only have to sanitize their hands properly before each jab and this was sufficient enough to ensure hygiene and safety for the exercise.
He also indicated that if the vaccinators were to wear gloves for the process, that would mean one pair of gloves for each jab administered would be required.
This may not be practically feasible in the light of the hundreds of thousands of people who are expected to be vaccinated throughout the year.