Dr Bawumia, Samira to receive coronavirus vaccine at Police Hospital

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will today take his Coronavirus AstraZeneca vaccine jab live on TV, together with his wife, Samira Bawumia at the Police Hospital in Accra.

This is to boost public confidence in the safety and efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine that has been approved for use to slow the spread of the virus in Ghana.

It will also mark the beginning of the deployment of the 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from Tuesday, March 2 to Monday, March 15, by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

The vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (Covishield), arrived in Ghana on February 24, and will be deployed in 43 districts which are the epicentres of the pandemic in Ghana.

They are 25 in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and two in the Kasoa area [Awutu Senya East and West], 16 in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area and Obuasi area.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 24th Coronavirus address on Sunday, February 28, explained that whilst Ghana was initially concentrating on the 43 epicentre districts, preparations are being made for the vaccination of a total of 20 million Ghanaians through the deployment of 12,471 vaccinators, 37,413 volunteers and 2079 supervisors for the entire vaccination campaign.

"Fellow Ghanaians, I know that there are still some who continue to express doubts about the vaccine, others have expressed reservations about its efficacy, some taking sides with conspiracy theorists who believe the vaccine is being created to wipe out the African race, this is far from the truth," he explained.

"Our domestic regulatory agency FDA (Food and Drugs Authority),” the President explained, has certified the medicine for safety. "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."

Some key public officials including the Speaker and Members of Parliament, the Chief Justice and Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, Chairperson and Members of the Council of State, the Chief of Staff and senior officials at the Office of the President will also take the jab publicly.

The rest are prominent personalities like some Eminent Clergy, the National Chief Imam, the Asantehene, the Ga Mantse, and some media practitioners.