Ghana in talks with manufacturers to receive more vaccines – Okoe Boye

Government is in talks with manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccines to get additional vaccines for the country.

This comes on the back of the delivery of some 600,000 vaccines to Ghana.

Former Deputy Health Minister, Dr. Okoe Boye on The Big Issue on Citi TV/FM monitored by Africannewsgh said Ghana will receive more vaccines in the coming weeks.

“There is communication going on between the sector minister through the Russian Embassy as well as certain agents who have direct access to the manufacturers [of the vaccines]. We are looking at sources like COVAX, M-pharma and some private entities that have shown signs of wanting to give us vaccines.”

Ghana took delivery of doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India last week Wednesday.

The vaccines arrived via the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) which Ghana has signed onto alongside 91 other countries.

There is no indication yet when the actual vaccination of persons will begin.

The areas earmarked for the initial vaccine rollout are the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area including Awutu Senya and Awutu Senya East in the Central Region.

A similar segmented population in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and Obuasi municipality will also be covered, according to a statement from the Information Ministry.

The persons in these areas who will benefit from the initial doses of vaccine are “health workers, adults 60 years and over, people with underlying health conditions, frontline executive, legislature, judiciary and their related staff, frontline security personnel, some religious leaders, essential workers, teachers and other personalities.”

The newly arrived COVID-19 vaccines will be deployed to designated health facilities from March 2, 2021.