Covid-19: AstraZeneca and Sputnik V effective against delta variant — GHS

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has allayed public fears that the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V are not effective on the newly detected Covid-19 Delta variant in the country.

According to the health service, the Covid-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca and Sputnik V) are still effective against the variant which originated from India.

Director of Public Health, GHS, Dr. Franklin Asiedu Bekoe responding to the news said there was no cause for alarm because, “The vaccine we received is not water. It’s so effective,” he stated

“One thing that is most important is what we call population immunity . . . For now, government is trying to see that we will get more vaccines and then we can build that immunity… the vaccine, AstraZeneca, is so effective,” he further explained in an interview.

Dr. Bekoe, however, advised the public to continue to adhere to the Covid-19 preventive protocols particular the wearing of nose masks, social and physical distancing and washing of hands with soap under running water.

Delta Variant

Head of the West Africa Center for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens, WACCBIP, of the University of Ghana, Professor Gordon Awendare confirmed the recording of the Covid-19 Delta variant in the country.

The strain is known to have caused a spike in Covid-19 cases recorded in India, and an increase in cases in the UK despite a large section of the population in those countries being vaccinated.

“Overall, we have about 45 or 46 different variants. The trend shows that all these normally come from travellers. Now that the Delta (Indian Variant) is taking over, it's just a matter of time before it will come here in large quantities. We have a few here but it's going to increase,” Professor Awendare said.

He added; “Now we have to be looking at the right vaccines. All this while, we have been fixed on AstraZeneca and Sputnik V, but we have to shift towards more of Pfizer and others which have a better chance of protecting against this variant. Because the future is, we are going towards these aggressive variants”.

Professor Awendare called on the government to immediately enforce the Covid-19 preventive protocols including tightening the control at the airport to stop more importation of the variant.

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified this coronavirus variant as a “variant of global concern”. It said preliminary studies showed that this specific mutation spreads more easily than other variants.

A mutation is elevated from a “variant of interest” to a “variant of concern” (VOC) when it shows evidence of fulfilling at least one of several criteria, including easy transmission, more severe illness, reduced neutralisation by antibodies or reduced effectiveness of treatment and vaccines according to the global health body.

---DGN online