Journalists and media practitioners have been advised to communicate in a manner that will influence the citizenry to accept the COVID-19 vaccines to help protect all.

Mr Samuel Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of Caritas Ghana, a charity organisation of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, who gave the advice, said communicating to change people’s behaviour towards the vaccines was critical in the next few months when the country was expected to take delivery of more for nationwide vaccination.

He was speaking in Tamale during a media engagement on promoting the enforcement of COVID-19 safety protocols and public campaign on citizens’ access, equity and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.

The event was organised by Caritas Ghana with support from the STAR Ghana Foundation as part of its interventions to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, using social and behavioural change communication strategies.

Mr Akologo urged journalists and media practitioners to let their work give confidence to the citizenry regarding the country’s fight against the pandemic and the need for them to avail themselves for the vaccines.

He told journalists that “the discussions surrounding the vaccines should feature prominently on your platforms” adding it should also focus on rural populations to ensure that they understood the issues to prevent a situation, where some people would bombard them with misconceptions and conspiracies against the vaccines.

He further urged the Ghana Health Service to take into account the cultural, demographic and occupational dynamics of the population to ensure that it rolled out the vaccine in a manner that would ensure that all citizens would be covered.