President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that a committee is working to formulate a concrete plan of action towards the development and manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine in Ghana.
He said the Committee, under the leadership of Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, a world-renowned scientist, is studying the variants in the country for appropriate action.
President Akufo-Addo said this in his 24th televised address to the nation on measures taken against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.
He stressed that the roll out of the vaccination exercise, expected to begin on March 2, 2021, did not mean that Ghanaians should discard the safety protocols.
“We cannot afford to let our guard down. Let us continue to wash our hands under running water, maintain social distancing, refrain from shaking hands and hugging, and, most importantly, wear our masks,” President Akufo-Addo said.
Commenting on the safety of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, President Akufo-Addo said the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), which is the country’s domestic regulatory Agency and one of the most reputable in Africa and in the world, had certified the safe use of the vaccine.
He assured that the vaccine would not alter DNAs, embed tracking devices in people’s body, and not cause infertility in women or in men as being speculated.
Ghana has since the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 recorded a total of 83,212 cases, 77,133 recoveries and 599 deaths.
