President Akufo Addo’s advisor on public health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare has revealed that the country is expecting 12 million more free doses of the COVAX AstraZeneca vaccines made by the India-based Serum Institute of India.
According to Dr. Asare, the COVAX initiative only budgeted for just 6.3 million Ghanaians which is about 20 percent of the country’s population to be given a two-shot vaccination with its free AstraZeneca vaccines.
“COVAX is giving about 20 percent of the population, which means that it about 6.3 million Ghanaians that have been budgeted for under COVAX which we not paid for,” he revealed on Citi TV’s ‘Point of View’ program which GhanaVanguard.com monitored yesterday, February 24, 2021.
Giving two-shot vaccination would mean a total of 12.6 million doses of the vaccine is needed to be able vaccinate all the 6.3 million Ghanaians that COVAX budgeted for for vaccination against covid-19.
However, in the morning of February 24, 2021, a consignment of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was brought into the country via the Kotoka International Airport from India. This means that out of the 12.6 million doses expected from COVAX; 600,000 has been received leaving the remaining 12 million yet to be shipped in.
Meanwhile the usage of the vaccine is expected to start on March 2 and the first persons to be vaccinated, according to reports, is the President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo; his wife, Rebecca Akufo Addo and their children.