President Akufo-Addo together with the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo today received the first dose of the 600,000 Covid-19 vaccines that arrived in the country on Wednesday.

They took their first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

The vaccination process was televised on all media outlets as well as social media platforms to boost confidence in citizens to take the vaccine.

This follows weeks of debate about the safety of the vaccine, anticipated side-effects and the country’s vaccination roll-out plan.

The exercise, which will include a similar one by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and wife, Samira Bawumia takes place at the Police Hospital in Accra.

On Wednesday, February 24, government took delivery of 600,000 AstraZeneca dose as part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global vaccine-sharing program. 

President Akufo-Addo in his 24th address to the nation on measures taken to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country assured that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and would not pose any threat to the health of any citizen.

“I know there are still some who continue to express doubts about the vaccine, others have expressed reservations about its efficacy, with some taking sides with conspiracy theorists who believe the vaccine has been created to wipe out the African race.

“This is far from the truth. As your President, I want to assure you that the vaccine is safe,” he said.