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Since it was announced that Ghana would receive certain doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, many people have raised concerns about its effectiveness or possible side effects.
Even though President Akufo-Addo assured Ghanaians of vaccine safety and made sure he took the first shot alongside his wife, First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Bawumia and second lady Samira Bawumia, some Ghanaians are still skeptical.
In view of this, some doctors allayed the fears of Ghanaians on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show.
Ghana Health Service Director of Public Health Dr Franklin Aseidu-Bekoe and FDA Senior Regulatory Officer (Drug Review and Registration Department) Nathaniel Nkrumah all responded to some questions from listeners and answered all their concerns about the Covid. -19 vaccination.
Dr Aseidu-Bekoe told host Winston Amoah the government hopes to roll out the 600,000 Covax vaccines within a week.
“The entire Covid-19 vaccination process is a package. You need to register. It will provide information about the person, including their name, age, and whether the person has an underlying condition. “
He explained that the recording will help health workers identify who should be vaccinated.
Are there any side effects?
When asked if there would be any side effects after the vaccination, Mr Nkrumah said that the side effects were classified into 3 categories; common, rare and very rare.
He explained that some of the common side effects are headache, dizziness, sometimes mild discomfort. He said it was normal, adding that the average person would have to get over it within a short period of time.
“The body has to absorb a foreign body and therefore the immune system is activated. It behaves like you have the Covid, so that’s how you feel. “
“And that’s what the 271 million people who have been vaccinated so far, if you look at the data, these are the most commonly reported side effects we’ve seen so far.”
Does the vaccine completely prevent Covid-19 infection?
Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said: “The data available tells you that a lot of people are prevented from getting the infections and that there are others who get the disease and get it in a mild form, so that’s okay with you. both ways.
Will the safety protocols no longer be applicable after vaccination?
Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said that since the vaccine is not 100% foolproof, people cannot let their guard down and ignore safety protocols after being vaccinated.
“You can only ignore the protocols if the virus does not exist. We can only get to this point if we have built enough immunity into the system, but, since we haven’t built it, we still have to stick to the protocols. “
Mr Nkrumah added that UK data indicates that after the vaccine, it takes two weeks for enough antibodies to develop to fight the virus once vaccinated.
“For the purposes of this phase, it is still useful to put on face masks and adhere to other protocols. Again, remember that if you take the vaccine others haven’t, right now it’s only about 600,000 doses, so think about the rest.
“Because right now, the data doesn’t show it prevents person-to-person transmission, it protects you.”
What if someone who doesn’t know he / she is Covid-19 positive takes it?
Dr Aseidu Bekoe said: “From our perspective, we think the more the better, because you get your natural immunity and the vaccine gives you a double dose.”
“So we think that there is nothing that will really happen to you. Some people argue that we need to test all people before we do the vaccination, but we won’t, we say all Ghanaians are eligible for the vaccination.
Can previously infected people get vaccinated?
The GHS director of public health said that although people who test positive for the virus already have natural immunity, it is also safe to get the vaccine.
“For now, the more evidence the better. There is no evidence that vaccines will have any harmful effects on them. So you are not exempt, even if you have been infected, we still encourage you to take the vaccine. “
Will there be more vaccines?
Mr Nkumah said Ghana has received requests from other vaccine manufacturers and will therefore be informed if they are approved.
“In terms of confidence, let me inform you that the AstraZenca [vaccine] is from the UK and they did a technology transfer to the Serum Institute of India, so it’s not just somebody from anything in the country. If you really read around medicine, you will notice that the late medicine sites are just scattered around the world due to many factors.
“So the product could be made in the UK, for the raw material it will be sent to other countries for other processes to be done. So it is not because someone is inferior to anyone.
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