Ghana to receive 1.3M COVID-19 vaccines from US

By Enoch Fiifi Forson

ACCRA, Ghana (AA) - Ghana will soon receive 1.3 million Pfizer vaccines from the US, the latter's vice president said on Thursday.

Kamala Harris made the announcement after a meeting with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo at the White House.

The two held bilateral talks "aimed at strengthening the bonds of friendship and ties of co-operation between the two countries," according to the Information Ministry.

The incoming vaccines is in addition to some 1.2 million Moderna vaccines the US donated earlier this month.

“None of us have been immune from the ravages of the pandemic. We recognize our shared responsibility to collaborate, to share resources, to not only continue to address the effects of COVID-19, but also to prepare for the next pandemics,” she said.

“The United States is proud to be a member of COVAX and the African Union, and has donated more than 1.2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Ghana. I am proud to announce that, shortly, we will send 1.3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.”

Akufo-Addo expressed gratitude for the US support in the fight against COVID-19.

In his speech at the 76th UN General Assembly session on Wednesday, he said Ghana has so far received five million doses. "We are grateful that our efforts at the management of the pandemic and vaccine distribution have been recognized, and we have received these amounts so far. We are still hoping to vaccinate 20 million of our people by the end of the year," he said.

Ghana has so far administered 1.62 million vaccine doses, and just 2.5% of the over 30 million people are fully vaccinated, according to the Our World in Data tracking website. It has seen at least 125,830 COVID-19 cases and 1,130 related deaths.