President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made a clarion call on all persons who are yet to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, to stop entertaining any form of skepticism about the jab and get vaccinated.
He said whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has well and truly impacted the Ghanaian economy negatively, his administration has a well-thought-out plan to salvage the situation, and part of the plan is ensuring that all eligible Ghanaians get vaccinated.
“I want to urge all Ghanaians to get vaccinated and help end the spread of the virus in our country. The science tells us that getting vaccinated is the most efficient way to defeat the virus and go back to our normal way of life, reopen fully our economy and return our nation unto the path of progress and prosperity,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“And for the skeptics, they should take note of the data that says that 80% of those who are currently infected are those who have not been vaccinated. That is enough to tell us about the value of vaccination,” the President added.
He made the statement when he was addressing participants at the 73rd Annual New Year School of the University of Ghana at the Great Hall, Legon under the theme “COVID-19 and Socio-economic Dynamics in Ghana”.
Available vaccines
According to President Akufo-Addo, government has so far secured some 26 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with some more on the way.
“Thus far, a total of 10,451,662 vaccines doses have been administered. 7,070,719 persons have received at least one jab with 3,380,949 persons fully vaccinated”.
“So I entreat all those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so. Our responsibility to one another requires that we be vaccinated,” President Akufo-Addo emphasized.
Key speakers
The keynote address of the 73rd Annual New Year School was delivered by two guests; first, Dr Juliette M. Tuakli, Medical Director and CEO of CHILDAccra Medical Group who also serves as Ghana Chair of the board of trustees of United Way Worldwide; and second, Mr Pierre Frank Laporte, the Africa Country Director of World Bank.
Panel discussion
As part of the school, there were three panels for discussions. The first discussed emerging technologies and innovations in healthcare delivery during pandemics while the second panel considered the topic, “COVID-19 and global peace and security”
The last panel took a look at the topic “The Socio-economic Impact of COVID-19 on Ghana’s Economy: Challenges and Prospects”.
