|
 People lined up for shots outside the regional hospital in the
capital, Accra, for a first phase of vaccinations which will
prioritise frontline health workers and others at high risk.
"I feel so good about taking the vaccine. It will protect me from
contracting the virus from patients," said Bernice Anaglatey, 42,
who works in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Accra's Ridge
Hospital as she queued for her shot.
While western nations have secured millions of doses and launched
mass vaccination drives, most poorer countries do not yet have
access to any, raising concerns about equitable distribution of
vaccines to fight the pandemic.
Ghana was the first country to receive vaccines as part of the World
Health Organization's COVAX sharing scheme aimed at pooling funds
from wealthier nations and non-profits to deliver doses equitably
around the world.
COVAX aims to deliver over 1.3 billion vaccine doses to over 90 low-
and middle-income countries by the end of the year, covering up to
20% of their populations.
Only a handful of other African countries have started inoculations,
with doses purchased bilaterally or received as donations.
Ghana's neighbour Ivory Coast launched its COVID-19 inoculation
drive on Monday with doses from COVAX.
[to top of second column] |
 Vaccine deliveries through the
COVAX scheme are expected to accelerate this
week with 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford
and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines delivered to
countries, some in Africa including Nigeria and
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo and his wife
received the vaccine on Monday in an effort to
boost public confidence ahead of the campaign,
amid rumours and scepticism about vaccines. But
scepticism remained.
"The stories I heard about the vaccine have put
fear in me," said Isaac Armah, a 28-year-old
trader. "I'll wait for about two months to see
the effects of the vaccine on the early
recipients, then I'll make up my mind."
Coronavirus infections in Ghana have surpassed
84,000 and more than 600 people have died,
according to health ministry data.
(Reporting by Christian Akorlie, Writing by
Nellie Peyton; Editing by Bate Felix and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
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