The government has established a committee to formulate a concrete plan for vaccine development and manufacturing in Ghana.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made this known in his 24th address to the nation on Sunday, February 28, 2021.
The former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng will be Chairman of the committee.
“I want to reiterate my determination that we should manufacture vaccines here in Ghana. To this end, a committee has been established under the chairmanship of the former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, the world-renowned scientist, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, which is formulating a concrete plan of action towards vaccine development and manufacturing,” said the President.
This announcement comes days after Ghana received 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India via the COVAX facility.
The COVAX Facility plans to deliver close to 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year.
The AstraZeneca vaccines will be deployed to designated health facilities in Ghana from March 2.
The areas earmarked for the initial vaccine rollout are the Greater Accra Metro including Awutu Senya and Awutu Senya East in the Central Region.
A similar segmented population in the Greater Kumasi Metro and Obuasi municipality will also be covered, according to a statement from the Information Ministry.
The President, in his address, also allayed fears about the safety of the vaccines.
“Taking the vaccine will not alter your DNA, it will not embed a tracking device in your body, neither will it cause infertility in women or in men. As your President, I want to assure you that the vaccine is safe.”
