The Ghana Health Service has allayed fears over the withdrawal of Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccines worldwide due to rare blood clot concerns.
Ghana was the first African country to receive 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program.
Reports suggest the manufacturers have withdrawn the vaccines worldwide due to concerns about rare blood clots.
The situation has sparked widespread fear and panic among the population, with many believing they may have experienced a potential impact.
But the Director General of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye, has mitigated the public’s concerns.
During a tour of some vaccination centres in the Ga East Municipality, Dr. Aboagye said the company is pulling out due to a business decision.
“What I have read is nothing that was ever hidden. What I read from the report is that they are withdrawing for commercial reasons, in a sense that, there are superior vaccines in the market, and so if you are in a market and you will not be able to compete why produce something when others will go for some other brand?” He asked.
Dr Aboagye added that, “For me that is the message I get from the decision, not because it is dangerous. It is simply because all vaccines have side effects, but their decision was that, if I’m selling something and someone brings in a more superior brand into the market and probably even cheaper, why do I stay in the market? I think as a company they have the right to do that.
If you remember very well, these were all things that we said, we said they were very rare. Have you taken paracetamol before? You just take the leaflet and read the side effects of paracetamol. There’s no medicine on earth that does not have some side effects but how frequently is it? Is it rare? Is it common? If it’s very common, the system will not even allow it on the market at all,” the GHS boss assured.
A representative of the WHO country office, Dr. Michael Adjabeng, assured that the organization and its partners will ensure the safety of every vaccine given to the Ghanaian populace.
“Information out there stated that, it is due to commercial reasons, that’s why the manufacturers are pulling out. There are other vaccines out there that is safe. In fact, as we speak, the reason they are pulling out is the availability of alternatives. Therefore, making it economically not valuable,” he explained.
Dr Adjabeng added that “If you compare the advantages of the vaccines and some of its side effects, there is still a very big advantage in vaccinating, but the story now is that they are pulling out because of commercial reasons. Together with the FDA, the ministry and the Ghana Health Service, we will definitely make sure that the best vaccine is out there for the people of Ghana.”
Currently its only Johnson and Johnson vaccines that are being administered for the ongoing vaccination exercise nationwide.
By Sarah Apenkroh
