By Yvonne Atilego.
Ghana has received 249,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the UK government through the COVAX facility.
The donation follows a pledge by the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson at the G7 meeting in June 2021 to donate 100 million vaccines to the world.
The UK has already donated about 5 million vaccines to COVAX of which 3 million will be distributed across Africa.
According to officials of the Ghana Health Service, the vaccines will be deployed after an FDA inspection.
People waiting for their second dose of AstraZeneca vaccines will be eligible for vaccination of the latest consignment.
The vaccines were received by Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Mensah at the Kotoka International Airport. She said the vaccines have come,
“At a time when the government has dedicated resources in addressing the critical health needs of citizens”.
She was optimistic that the resources would go a long way to provide the best health care delivery for Ghana.
Charge de Affairs of the British High Commission, Dr. Joseph Whittle lauded the government for handling the pandemic efficiently so far. He urged the Health Ministry to distribute the vaccines to vulnerable groups as quickly as possible, to prevent a further rise in infections.
“It is another historic moment to see the COVAX facility deliver vaccines to Ghana. Our support we believe is in the right direction and can be seen in the vaccination campaign drive in the right direction.
We want to commend Ghana’s role in fighting the pandemic and we are impressed with the work done”.
Also at the Airport was the Representative of UNICEF, Anne-Claire Dufay.
She gave assurance that UNICEF will continue to provide technical support to Ghana in its fight against the Covid -19 pandemic.
