Grand Bassa achieves 71% COVID-19 vaccination coverage of its total population – Liberia

Grand Bassa, 8 July 2022 – Liberia’s ambitious dream of reaching the global goal of fully immunizing 70% of the total population against COVID-19 by mid-year is turning into reality. The World Health Organization Representative in Liberia, Dr. Peter Clement, accompanied the Minister of Health, the Honorable Wilhelmina Jallah to congratulate the Grand Bassa County Health Team for the excellent work done by the county, having achieved 71% COVID-19 vaccination coverage for the county’s entire population. . Liberia has six major counties out of the 15 that house most of Liberia’s population, and Grand Bassa is one of them. Grand Bassa County Health Officer Dr. Sylvester Wheh expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the support the county has received from the national level to enable it to achieve success.

“It has not been an easy road, but we have been supported throughout by our country headquarters and WHO. It has indeed motivated us as a team to work harder to achieve more, and yes, together we made it,” said Dr Phew.

“I am very proud that our great counties are setting the trend. First it was Nimba, then Lofa, and now Grand Bassa. We congratulate you on a job well done, it is important for the country. Even for the coverage vaccination of health workers, Liberia tops the charts – thank you,” said Minister Jallah.

She further added that it is due to the achievements the country has cordially made that Liberia is now classified as a low risk country for COVID-19.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, Liberia was not spared. We all know what we have been through as a country and how we have survived as individuals – it was a difficult journey. Vaccines arrived in 2021 with many unknowns, coupled with myths and misconceptions, and we have gradually introduced vaccines from the central level to the counties,” said Dr Clement.

“During the four peaks of the pandemic, the more cases we saw, the more people needed to be vaccinated in an effort to achieve herd immunity. Counties are committed to ensuring that people are vaccinated and we’ve seen the progress, and it’s clear that empowering the counties, with strong community engagement and promoting community ownership of the process – produces better results – Congratulations – we’re proud of you,” said the Dr Clement.

“Our vaccinators are our foot soldiers; they deliver even in the harshest weather conditions and travel long distances to get the job done – superintendents, community leaders, they are all appreciated,” said Dr Clement.

Going forward, the county was challenged to achieve the global goal of 90% by December 2022. Additionally, the county was advised to devise strategies on the integration of vaccination against COVID-19 in routine vaccination.

To top off the event, various awards were presented to team players who showed exceptional efficiency in making this success a reality, with an award also given to the county for its outstanding performance in the COVID vaccination campaign. -19 for Liberia.

Grand Bassa is the third county in Liberia to achieve over 70% coverage of COVID-19 vaccination against its total county population of 296,560, where at least 210,631 people aged 12 and over have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The UN in Liberia, in collaboration with other counterparts, has immensely supported the Ministry of Health in the response to COVID-19, both technically, materially and financially. Today, Liberia, which now stands at 54%, is one of eight countries in Africa that have fully vaccinated between 40 and 70% of their national population, making it the only country in Africa in the West to have reached this milestone. This was possible thanks to the support of the COVAX facility and various partners, including the United States Government, Germany, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs-France (MEAE), ECHO, CDC and USAID .

For more information or to request interviews, please contact: Ms. Letitia Nangwale Communications Officer Telephone: (231) 775704529 E-mail: nangwalel@who.int