Ghana to receive AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine by February ending

Ghana is expected to receive about 2.4 million initial doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine by end of February 2021 under the UN COVAX facility, it has been announced.

Per an interim distribution forecast published by the COVAX facility on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, the consignment is expected to cover at least 3 per cent of Ghana’s population.

It said the consignment was part of 240 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines licensed to the Serum Institute of India (SII) which have been earmarked for initial distribution to countries signed unto the COVAX facility.

Some 144 countries will also receive the vaccines subject to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use List (EUL) within the same period.

According to the distribution forecast by COVAX, based on the limited quantity of doses available, the list of participants was pared down via a WHO-led review process based on four factors including the country’s readiness, as well as an assessment of risk of health care worker exposure.

President Akufo-Addo's 23 update

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 23rd national update on measures taken by government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana announced plans to procure 17.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of June with the first doses arriving in March.

According to the President, “Our aim is to vaccinate the entire population, with an initial target of 20 million people.”

He noted that only vaccines evaluated and declared safe would be procured and administered.

What is COVAX

COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

The ACT Accelerator is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Click on the link to read the full distribution forecast here