The Government, on Tuesday October 26, 2021, received 756,000 additional doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine under the watch of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).
The doses delivered are the largest J&J vaccine consignment received so far by the country.
The vaccine deliveries are part of the historic COVID-19 vaccine advance procurement agreement signed on 28 March 2021, by AVAT for the purchase of 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to reach at least a third of the African population., with the aim to order an additional 180 million doses.
In effect, a total of 400 million vaccines are expected to be obtained by AVAT.
Ama Amoah, Senior Specialist Digital & Internal Communications, and Events Afreximbank, handed over the shipment to Dr Elysee Karikari Agyeman, a Member of the Health Commodity Group for COVID-19 at the Ministry of Health.
She stated categorically that, the vaccines were gained by the government of Ghana and were not donated.
The other Member States who have booked the vaccines through AVAT will still have their consignment coming in the subsequent months.
AVAT was set up by the African COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, established in November 2020 under the African Union chairmanship of President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa.
It is in line with the African Union’s COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy, and its goal of vaccinating at least 60 percent of the African population with safe and efficacious vaccines against COVID-19.
The agreement with Johnson & Johnson was made possible through a US$2 billion facility provided by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), who are also the Financial and Transaction Advisers, Guarantors, Instalment Payment Advisers and Payment Agents, and the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) who coordinated the alignment of the AU Ministers of Finance on the financing arrangements.
The vaccine doses are part of a total of 6.4 million vaccine doses to be shipped to African Union Member States in August 2021.
Ghana is among the first ten African countries to receive vaccines through the partnership.
Source:Starrfm.com.gh