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The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his wife, Rebecca Akufo-Addo were the first Ghanaians to receive the first jabs of the COVID-19 COVAX COVID-19 vaccines.
The President received his jab in the presence of the cameras at the 37 Military Hospital where he drove to with his wife, Rebecca Akufo-Addo for the ceremony.
A female nurse who works at the facility walked up to the President and administered the first shot before moving to his wife who was also given a shot.
The decision for the President and his wife to receive the first shots of the vaccine forms part of efforts to disabuse the minds of Ghanaians about the vaccine.
“We’ve all had a very difficult time since last year. Fortunately, scientists in the world have now found what could be a permanent antidote to what I call pestilence that has affected all of our lives. It is important that I set the example that this vaccine is safe by being the first to have it so that every body in Ghana will feel comfortable about taking this vaccine,” Akufo-Addo stated before receiving the vaccine.
He added: “It is important that everybody at the end of the day is vaccinated. The vaccine doesn’t mean we are throwing away all the other protocols. They remain in place until we are satisfied that the virus finally disappears from the soil of Ghana.”
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was also vaccinated at the same location after the President left.
For his part, Dr Bawumia stated: “We’re taking the vaccine today to assure the public and Ghanaians in general that it’s safe… and the FDA has really assured us and we’re very confident in the safety of this vaccine.
“We’re asking all Ghanaians to be cooperative in this process of vaccination. Please don’t listen to the naysayers who want to spread conspiracy theory about this vaccine… this is to protect all of us and our economy, so we move forward. It’s in our collective interest to take this vaccine.”
Ghana became the first country outside India to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility. The delivery was part of a first wave of arrivals that will continue in the coming days and weeks.
On 23 February, COVAX shipped 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/ Oxford vaccine, from the Serum Institute of India (SII) from Pune, India to Accra, Ghana, arriving on the morning of 24 February.
The arrival in Accra is the first batch shipped and delivered in Africa by the COVAX Facility as part of an unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, civil society organisations, manufacturers, and others.
Watch the President take his shot below:
