Ghana has received an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine at the Kotoka International Airport.
The first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccines from Covax, a World Health Organization-backed effort to procure and distribute inoculations for free to poor countries.
“These 600,000 Covax vaccines are part of an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India, which represent part of the first wave of Covid vaccines headed to several low and middle-income countries,” said UNICEF, which organised the shipment from Mumbai, in a joint statement with the WHO.
Covax has said it would deliver two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.
The vaccines were received by a government delegation led by the Minister for Health-designate, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (MP).
Meanwhile, an Immunologist at Noguchi Dr. Kwadwo Asamoah has assured Ghanaians about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine being expected in the country this week.
He said the vaccines are safe and have proven efficiency in the fights against the deadly virus.
“Almost everybody should feel safe to take the vaccine but if you’re in doubt, talk to your doctor who knows your medical history. One thing that we have to be clear is that the side effects we’re talking about are in most vaccines. It’s all a sign that your body is responding and there’s no cause for alarm.
“It’s very important to educate people on the vaccine because if we don’t vaccinate a large number of people, it will be in vain. There’s nothing that doesn’t have any side effects. As I mentioned, it’s not just for #COVID19 vaccines. It’s true that the vaccine will change your immune system but it’s changing it for the better,” he told Morning Starr host Francis Abban Tuesday.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM