Ghana has received an additional 244,800 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines as government continues its drive to get 20 million Ghanaians vaccinated by October this year.
The jabs were delivered through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) in Accra on Thursday, September 2.
The AVAT mechanism was established by the African Union (AU) and is supported by the World Bank.
This forms part of government’s interventions to ensure the country attains herd immunity in the fight against the virus.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic is not slowing down on the African continent, with at least 26 Africans dying from the virus every hour – that’s nearly 10,000 deaths per month.
The third wave has been driven mainly by the more transmissible delta variant.
Speaking at a news briefing on September 2, WHO Director for the Africa Region, Dr Matsidiso Moeti, believes that with the emergence of a new and more lethal strain from South Africa, the situation is likely to worsen.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) is expanding its capacity to improve its virus sequencing.
The Service took delivery of equipment that will aid the National Public Health & Reference Laboratory to join Centres at the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology to sequence Covid-19 samples for more effective management of cases.
However, health authorities in the Ashanti Region say they are considering extending the five-day period set aside for the AstraZeneca vaccination.
This comes in the wake of hours of heavy rains that affected the exercise all day on Thursday.
Residents who queued at vaccination centres hoping to access the second dose of the vaccine were left stranded for several hours as the exercise delayed.
Therefore, the health officials believe the extension will help them clear the backlog of jabs needed to be administered.
Latest Stories
-
Watch winners of Ghana Hip Hop Dance Championship display their talent
28 mins -
AstraZeneca has withdrawn because there are superior vaccines – GHS
28 mins -
EC pays temporary officials for 2023 District Level Elections
34 mins -
Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine’s power plants
45 mins -
Kanayo O. Kanayo welcomes son into movie industry as he takes on filmmaking
1 hour -
Voters exhibition will offer opportunity to rectify mistakes – EC
1 hour -
‘WorldClass’ project: Deloitte commissions 7th library at Hohoe
1 hour -
Red Eye secures management deal with George Britton’s Revolve Muzic
2 hours -
3 persons arrested for causing disruption in voter registration exercise at Tepa
2 hours -
Journalists are not induced to frustrate the OSP – GJA President fires back
2 hours -
J. Derobie returns with ‘Firm After All’ EP
2 hours -
Samuel William Opoku-Agyakwa
2 hours -
I won’t protect your legacy of corruption, bankrupt economy – Mahama replies Akufo-Addo
3 hours -
Everyone safe after building collapses in Nairobi
3 hours -
Ariana Grande was carried in ‘asleep’ for Met Gala 2024 performance
3 hours