Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund has confirmed that Government of Ghana has approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for use against COVID-19 pandemic.
Government last Friday announced it has applied for AstraZeneca vaccine, which is licensed to the Serum Institute of India and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
This was disclosed when the Ministry of Health together with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ministry of Information held a public engagement on Government’s COVID-19 vaccination Roll out Plan.
According to the Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, Ghana is the fifth in Africa and 31st in the world to approve the emergency use of the Sputnik V vaccine to fight the deadly pandemic.
A statement from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the sovereign wealth fund, said the move by Ghana is a “positive example of vaccine cooperation between Russia and partners across the world to save lives and protect the population.”
The statement issued by Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund added that the “Ministry of Health of Ghana has thoroughly reviewed the data on safety and efficacy of Sputnik V also proven by publication in The Lancet and approved the use of the vaccine”.
Countries that have already registered the vaccine, according to the statement are; Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, and Tunisia.
The rest are, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon and San Marino.
568 people succumb to COVID-19
Meanwhile, COVID-19 has now claimed 568 lives.
In addition to this, the Ghana Health Service announced that 418 new cases were recently confirmed.
Thankfully, the number of active cases has fallen from 7,931 to 7,773.
Since mid-March 2020, Ghana has recorded a total of 78,689 cases with 70,348 recoveries.
Regional breakdown:
Greater Accra Region – 45,616
Ashanti Region – 13,890
Western Region – 4,595
Eastern Region – 3,454
Central Region – 2,736
Volta Region – 1,458
Bono East Region – 972
Upper East Region – 896
Northern Region – 877
Bono Region – 865
Western North Region – 773
Ahafo Region – 645
Upper West Region – 328
Oti Region – 260
Savannah Region – 72
North East Region – 61
