Ghana is scheduled to receive 350,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the COVAX facility later today, Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
The move is part of President Akufo-Addo’s plan to vaccinate Ghana’s entire adult population by the end of the year.
The president made the declaration during Saturday’s May Day celebrations in Accra, adding that an extra 1.3 million Sputnik V vaccinations would arrive in the country by May 15.
“On Tuesday, we will receive 350,000 additional AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX factory, in addition to the 600,000 we received on February 24th. The government will have ordered 1.3 million Sputnik vaccines by May 15th. We are committed to vaccinating 20 million Ghanaians, or the entire adult population, by the end of this year, and we are on track to do so,” he added.
The government has had difficulty obtaining new vaccines in order to reach the original eight-week timeframe for those who got the first dose to get a second dose.
The second round of vaccine for those who have already had the first shot has been postponed, according to health officials.
More than 800,000 people have been inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines so far, with the Greater Accra Region reporting the largest number of inoculated people.
Government must speed up procurement of next batch of vaccines – Minority
The government has been requested by the Minority in Parliament to speed up the procurement of the second batch of COVID-19 vaccines for Ghanaians.
Despite the budgetary allowance for vaccinations, the country, according to the party, has made very little effort to secure them.
In a statement to the media, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, a member of Parliament’s Health Committee, said that if the second vaccination of the population is delayed, Ghanaians would risk their partial immunity to the disease.
“We would like to urge the government to take action on vaccination as soon as possible, as planned. The first dose of COVID-19 vaccinations would have high levels of safety for around eight weeks, during which time another consignment will have arrived to ensure the administration of second jabs for those who had already got their first jab,” Ghanaians were informed.
“At the time of writing, no further doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have arrived, placing Ghanaians who have already administered the first jab at risk of losing the partial protection gained by vaccination.”
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SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
