Ghana selected as possible manufacturing hub for Covid-19 vaccines

According to reports, task force teams from both Ghana and the European Union will meet in due course to discuss plans to begin the process.

CAPE TOWN, May 24 (ANA) – The West African country of Ghana has been selected as a possible manufacturing hub for Covid-19 vaccines in Africa by the European Commission, the Ghanaian Presidential Palace has said in a statement.

After a recent meeting between Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and vice president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission indicated the selection of Ghana as a possible manufacturing hub for Covid-19 vaccines in Africa, the statement said.

According to reports, task force teams from both Ghana and the European Union will meet in due course to discuss plans to begin the process.

Ghanaian authorities recently announced that they will start to administer the second dose of Covid-19 vaccines as the West African country aims to inoculate 20 million people by October.

The president confirmed that the deployment of the second dose of jabs will take place between May 19 and May 26, approximately 12 weeks after the first jab.

Furthermore, a survey by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that vaccine hesitancy is compounding the Covid-19 threat.

More than half of respondents in 15 high-risk countries said that the seriousness of Covid-19 is exaggerated, reports the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies.

Furthermore, according to news broadcaster BBC, experts believe the spread of new coronavirus variants in Africa has contributed to an increase in both cases and deaths across the continent.

According to reports, at least a dozen countries have so far confirmed presence of the variant first detected in India late last year.

Further to this, to prevent fake Covid-19 PCR certificates being used to enter the country, authorities in Ghana have begun digitising PCR test results to ensure ease of verification.

African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay