COVID-19 vaccination:Ghana receives 1.2m Moderna doses…the largest shipment from US through COVAX facility

Ghana on Saturday received its first shipment of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines totalling 1,229,620 million doses.

The double-dose vaccines which are by far the largest to be shipped into the country was from the United States (US) government through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility.

A delegation led by the US Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan, UNICEF Country Representative, Anne-Claire Dufay and Deputy Minister of Health, Alhaji Asei Mahama Seini, received the vaccines at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra.

 In a remark, the US Ambassador expressed the commitment of the US government to lead global response in fighting the pandemic by ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines.

Mrs Sullivan said the US had already donated 125 million doses of vaccines to over 80 countries globally to support immunisation drive.

“As we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at home or the workplace, President Biden has promised that the US will be an arsenal of vaccines for the world,” she noted.

The Ambassador hinted of the US government’s willingness to allocate more vaccines to Ghana in the near future as it supports other efforts aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic the US has contributed more than 30million dollars to Ghana’s COVID-19 response and the arrival of these vaccines today is priceless,” she stated.

Mrs Sullivan implored citizens yet to take a shot of COVID-19 vaccine to do so saying, “Vaccines, along with other preventive protocols will help control the pandemic and slow the development of new variants.”

“I urge all Ghanaians to get the vaccines as soon as they are able to do so, especially now that more vaccines are coming in.

There’s no reason not to get vaccinated because vaccines are important to nib mutations of the virus in the bud so it doesn’t outsmart us,” she stated.

Country Representative of UNICEF, Anne Claire-Dufay, commended government for its management of the pandemic.

She pledged the assistance of UNICEF to ensure safe storage of the vaccines and its distribution to protect citizens against COVID-19.

Alhaji Asei Mahama Seini thanked the US government for its immense support to Ghana’s COVID-19 fight.

He said the receipt of the vaccines would help the country achieve its vaccination target to attain herd immunity.

The Moderna vaccines now authorised in the US for adults aged 18 and above is said to have an efficacy of approximately 94.1 per cent against COVID-19.

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH

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