Coronavirus: Why nurses who administered vaccine to Nana Addo, others didn’t wear gloves

Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, March 1, 2021, became the first person in the country to take the much-awaited coronavirus vaccine that arrived sometime last week.

The President’s jab which was telecast on national television was to among other things done to allay fears of a section of the public regarding the effects of the vaccine. It was also to demonstrate the confidence the president had in the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

While Nana Addo and the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo have been commended for openly taking his vaccine jab, concerns have been raised as to why the nurses who administered the jab on the president and his wife were not wearing surgical gloves, with some arguing that it is dangerous.

But it has emerged per GhanaWeb checks that the decision by the nurses not to wear gloves while giving the jabs is standard practice.

According to the Washington state department of health, gloves are not recommended to be worn when administering the Covid-19 vaccination, unless the person administering the vaccination has open sores on their hands or is likely to come into contact with a patient’s body fluids.

“Gloves are not recommended for most vaccination administration and are not required for the Covid-19 vaccine unless the person administering the vaccine is likely to come into contact with potentially infectious body fluids or has open lesions on their hands,” it said.

“If used improperly, gloves can increase the likelihood of spreading germs.”

The General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunization set out by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the same thing:

“Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations do not require gloves to be worn when administering vaccinations unless persons administering vaccinations have open lesions on their hands or are likely to come into contact with a patients body fluids”.

Ghana acquired 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India on Wednesday, February 24, becoming the first African country to do so.

The roll-out of the vaccination will be conducted in forty-three (43) districts, which are the epicentres of the pandemic in the country. They are twenty-five (25) in Greater Accra, sixteen (16) in Ashanti, and two (2) in the Central Region.

Designated persons to take the vaccine will begin the exercise on Tuesday, March 2.

The roll-out of the vaccine is expected to break the transmission of the virus which has seen a surge in Ghana over the last couple of weeks.