GHANA PRIORITIZES HEALTH WORKERS FOR COVID 19 VACCINATION

Photo of myself shortly after taking the covid 19 AstraZeneca vaccine . On Display is the Ministry of health Proof of Vaccination Card

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The Government of Ghana took delivery of 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines branded Covishield on the 24th of February this year manufactured by the Serum Institute of India .

Nationwide vaccination started on the 2nd of March 2021 with the President ,H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and his spouse followed by the Vice President and the spouse taking the lead .

Several other dignitaries including the main Opposition leader ,Fromer president John Dramani Mahama and his spouse ,The Asantehene (a revered King in Ghana) all taking their shots .

A nationwide vaccination of all health workers commenced starting from The Greater Accra region ,Ashanti region and some parts of central region .
Health workers across the length and breadth of the country can now confirm a vaccination center close to their work place where they can take the jab.

The photo above shows myself as a health worker moments after taking my jab and a vaccination card handed to me as evidence of vaccination .

Checks from ghanahealthservice.org as at 12th April indicates that Ghana has so far vaccinated a total of 742,349 persons having received top up vaccines from The republic of India and MTN Ghana ,a telecommunication giant in the country .

Background on the AstraZeneca vaccine

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The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. It says it is producing more than 50 million doses a month.

The vaccine, which is known as Covishield, is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees. It has been modified to look more like coronavirus - although it can't cause illness.When the vaccine is injected into a patient, it prompts the immune system to start making antibodies and primes it to attack any coronavirus infection.
The jab is administered in two doses given between four and 12 weeks apart. It can be safely stored at temperatures of 2C to 8C, about the same as a domestic refrigerator, and can be delivered in existing health care settings such as doctors' surgeries.

This makes it easier to distribute than some of the other vaccines.
The jab developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, which is currently being administered in several countries, must be stored at -70C and can only be moved a limited number of times - a particular challenge in India, where summer temperatures can reach 50C.

International clinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine showed that when people were given a half dose and then a full dose, effectiveness hit 90%.
But there was not enough clear data to approve the half-dose, full-dose idea.
However, unpublished data suggests that leaving a longer gap between the first and second doses increases the overall effectiveness of the jab - in a sub-group given the vaccine this way it was found to be 70% effective after the first dose.

In conclusion the vaccine has largely been proven to be safe .No Lethal effects have been recorded one month on .As I always do ,I will encourage the general population to tolerate the vaccine and encourage others more to take the jab as the government prepares to rollout a nationwide vaccination of all citizens

Thanks so much for your attention