Gov’t to support Ghanaian scientists to develop vaccines

The Government of Ghana says it will provide support for Ghanaian scientists to develop vaccines to curb the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo indicated this in his seventh nation address to update the Ghanaian citizenry on the COVID-19.

Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2020, the President applauded scientists at the University of Ghana (UG) for successfully sequencing genomes of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the global COVID-19 pandemic and obtaining important information about the genetic composition of viral strains.

The scientists, who work at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), under the College of Health Sciences, and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), College of Basic and Applied Sciences analyzed samples from selected cases and using advanced Next-Generation Sequencing methods were able to track and compare viral mutations.

The President expressed delight over the work of the scientists and hoped they come up with a vaccine.

”The scientist of the University of Ghana has successfully sequenced genomes of the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic obtaining important information about the genetic composition of virus stains in fifteen of the confirmed cases in Ghana. This is a significant milestone in Ghana’s response to the pandemic as it will strengthen surveillance for tracking mutations of the virus and in the tracing of the sources of community infections in people with no known contact with confirmed cases. The Ghanaian scientific community is to be warmly applauded for this advance in contribution to global knowledge. Their work make us proud to be Ghanaians and who knows government may work through them to discover a vaccine. What a truimph that will be!”