Gov't to receive 2million more AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines by May

Ghana will receive an additional two million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility by the end of May, 2021.

That would boost the country's COVID-19 vaccination programme and aid government's quest to vaccinate about 20 million Ghanaians.

So far, Ghana had received more than 700,000 COVID-19 vaccines for her vaccination programme.

Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General, Ghana Health Service, announced this during a COVID-19 Update at the Peduase Lodge in the Eastern Region on Monday.

He said government was making frantic efforts to secure Cold Chain equipment that was capable of storing vaccines under negative temperatures.

He said the Service had, so far, vaccinated 300,000 people since the COVID-19 mass vaccination programme started on March 2,2021.

Out of the number, 129 persons reported various adverse effects including dizziness, pains at the spot of the injection and mild fever after taking the vaccines.

Those who received doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines included, health care workers, persons with underlying health conditions, essential service providers and those who were 60 years and above, as well as members of the security agencies, Executive, Legislature and Judiciary branches of government.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the GHS targeted 570,000 people in the first phase of the vaccination, but the number of people vaccinated and registered onto the electronic database system within a week, had exceeded 70 per cent threshold.

He applauded the media for intensifying sensitisation on the vaccine, which encouraged Ghanaians to voluntarily avail themselves of the vaccination.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye stated that some of the vaccines were delivered to the various health centres via Zipline Drone Delivery Service.

The GHS Boss announced that a locally- developed App would soon be launched to aid in appointment and registration of people onto the electronic database system to speed up the vaccination programme.

The mass vaccination exercise will continue till the end of October, this year.

About 20 million Ghanaians are expected to be vaccinated although government's ambition is to vaccinate the entire population.

Government of Ghana received its first batch of Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, under the Global Access (COVAX Facility) on Wednesday, February 24,2021.

---GNA