Government earmarks €20m for National Vaccine Institute

The government has set aside €20 million (euros) for the establishment of a National Vaccines Institute to oversee the domestic production of vaccines, especially for COVID-19, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

The quest to manufacture vaccines domestically is to help the country mitigate the impact of vaccine supply constraints and disruptions at the global level that has led to supply delays and shortages in many countries.

The funding for the project is part of an €82.5 million facility that the European Investment Bank approved for Ghana to invest in healthcare delivery, which includes the provision of specialist medical equipment and medicines to health facilities across the country.

The President said this on Wednesday in his 27th update on measures being taken to address the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the country was expecting additional delivery of 8,529,090 doses of vaccines by the end of the year to augment the 17,736,710 received so far by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

With 6,420,973 doses out of the 17.7 million administered so far, he assured of the safety of the vaccines and encouraged the citizenry get vaccinated, stressing that “the vaccines are safe. They will not harm you. They will protect you and your family”.

He said getting the jab was the best route out of the pandemic and that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had emphasised the potency of the vaccines in reducing the risk of death, hospitalisation, and the spread of the virus.

President Akufo-Addo said despite difficulties occasioned by border closures, reopening of the country’s land borders would not be now, especially when the country looked to preventing a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The President admonished the citizens to be responsible throughout the yuletide by ensuring that their actions and inactions did not contribute to the spread of the virus.

“Our best bet in the fight remains to adhere to the enhanced hygiene, social distancing, and mask-wearing protocols, and getting vaccinated,” he said.