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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s announcement of steps to procure the newly-developed COVID-19 vaccines is beginning to take shape.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has hinted that Ghana will be in the position to take delivery of the vaccines by the end of first quarter next year.
According to Bloomberg data, the first Covid-19 shots have already been given to more than 1.8 million people in five countries as of December 21, 2020.
President Akufo-Addo, during his 20th Covid-19 update to the nation, indicated that his administration was well aware of the strides made by the scientists in the US, UK and other countries in finding a vaccine for the virus and has already constituted a team of experts to make Ghana a recipient of the vaccines soon.
“To this end, I have put together a team of experts, from the relevant institutions and agencies, who are working assiduously towards the procurement and deployment of the vaccines in Ghana. The briefings held by the Ministry of Information will keep the nation updated on this matter,” he said Sunday.
Speaking on the JoyNews, Director for Public Health at GHS explained that plans are far advanced as the team has already submitted a request in that regard through the WHO’s COVAX facility.
“We’re not going to get all at once. It will come and continue coming. But hopefully, let’s say… by the end of the first quarter of 2021 we will start getting the vaccines,” Dr. Franklin Asiedu Bekoe said.
The COVAX facility is a global initiative that brings together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need, whoever they are and wherever they live.
Dr Bekoe on Monday said that the COVAX facility is normally able to give you vaccines for up to 20% of a county’s population.
“So for a country like Ghana it means that that facility will get us up to about 6 million,” he told Bernice Abu-Baidoo Lansah.
He further enumerated the availability of other facilities that can be explored to the same end from China, Russia among other avenues of access.