Ghana is set to receive an additional 385,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines for protection against coronavirus (COVID-19) to help in its plan to get over 20 million people in the country vaccinated against the infection.

This was made known last Sunday when Germany honoured its promise and delivered 1.5million doses of vaccines as promised Ghana through COVAX.

The latest delivery, made up of 27 palettes of vaccines from Cologne, Germany, arrived via global logistics giant DHL, which provided a cargo plane to ensure safe and fast delivery.

The first batch made up of 389,200 doses, were delivered on September 13 and when the third batch of vaccines is finally delivered, it will bring to 2.3million doses, the amount of vaccines the Germany Government has donated to Ghana.

German support

The vaccines which arrived early last Sunday, were received by officials of the German Embassy and immediately handed over to officials of the Ministry of Health.

The donation from the German government is in fulfilment of a promise the outgoing German Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel made to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the Compact with Africa Summit in Berlin on August 27, 2021.

The arrival of the first has enabled Ghana to roll out a new phase of nationwide vaccination exercise which began last Friday (September 24).

Apart from the support in the provision of vaccines, the German government has also supported with technical support and logistics to help Ghana fight the pandemic.

Currently, the German Epidemic Preparedness Team (SEEG) is providing theoretical and practical trainings in next-generation sequencing of viruses as well as bioinformatics analyses at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) to enable the Ghanaian authorities to identify potential new Coronavirus variants of concern.

GHANA is set to receive an additional 385,000 doses AstraZeneca vaccines for protection against coronavirus (COVID-19) to help in its plan to get over 20 million people in the country vaccinated against the infection.

This was made known last Sunday when Germany honoured its promise and delivered 1.5million doses of vaccines as promised Ghana through COVAX.

The latest delivery, made up of 27 palettes of vaccines from Cologne, Germany, arrived via global logistics giant DHL, which provided a cargo plane to ensure safe and fast delivery.

The first batch made up of 389,200 doses, were delivered on September 13 and when the third batch of vaccines is finally delivered, it will bring to 2.3million doses, the amount of vaccines the Germany Government has donated to Ghana.

German support

The vaccines which arrived early last Sunday, were received by Germany’s Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Daniel Krull who immediately handed over to the Ministry of Health led by Deputy Minister of Health, Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini.

The donation from the German government is in fulfilment of a promise the outgoing German Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel made to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the Compact with Africa Summit in Berlin on August 27, 2021.

The arrival of the first has enabled Ghana to roll out a new phase of nationwide vaccination exercise which began last Friday (Sept 24).

In a brief remark, Mr Krull said he was excited about the timely arrival of the second batch of doses as it would enable Ghana to effectively roll out the national general vaccination exercise.

“We are happy that the second batch of the vaccines have arrived at the time it has because it means that Ghana's vaccination campaign can continue without much concern over the availability of vaccines and if the exercise can be sustained,” he said

He also stressed the importance for nations who could afford to help others to ensure that almost everyone was vaccinated and safe.

The Ambassador further indicated that Germany was happy to support COVAX which was helping to vaccinate people worldwide as the only way to prevent the risk of constant new mutations of the virus.

“Indeed, nobody is safe until everybody is safe,” he emphasised.

Apart from the support in the provision of vaccines, the German government has also supported with technical support and logistics to help Ghana fight the pandemic.

Currently, the German Epidemic Preparedness Team (SEEG) is providing theoretical and practical training in next-generation sequencing of viruses as well as bioinformatics analyses at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) to enable the Ghanaian authorities to identify potential new Coronavirus variants of concern.

Alhaji Seini thanked the German Government though through the Ambassador and DHL for organising the shipment which ensured the timely arrival of the consignment.

He said that was a boost to the plans to get everyone vaccinated and encouraged all eligible persons to avail themselves for the jab.

“The only way we can all be safe is to protect ourselves and one another. With the availability of vaccines, there is no excuse not to go for the jab and I will encourage all who are eligible to go and receive the shot. It is free and easily accessible,” the Deputy Health Minister said.