More than 200,000 Ghanaians have received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine since the country deployed its COVID-19 vaccination programme on March 1, 2021.
Ghana was the first country outside India to receive vaccines through the COVAX initiative with a delivery of 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.
Despite the initial successes with the vaccine deployment, some social media users continue to ask lingering questions about the COVID-19 disease, possible side effects of taking the vaccine and are hesitant about taking the jab.
This factsheet will answer some questions raised in a Facebook post.
Claim 1
Why is COVID-19 test not done before vaccines are given just like Hepatitis B?
Answer: “You do not need to do a test before COVID-19 vaccination if you currently do not have the infection or symptoms of the disease. However, if a person is showing symptoms, you refer the person to the testing center.” Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI) Officer at World Health Organization (WHO) Ghana, Fred Osei Sarpong told GhanaFact.
Claim 2
Does it mean that the vaccine would kill the virus if one is already positive or a-symptomatic and goes for the jab?
Answer: “The vaccine does not kill the virus if one is positive. Vaccines prevent; not cure. That is why it is important to get vaccinated and prevent you from getting infected.” he said.
You can find more answers to your questions about the vaccination programme in this FACTSHEET. (here)
COVID-19 case count
The total number of active coronavirus cases in Ghana currently stands at 3,701, with 698 deaths recorded.
The country has recorded 88,228 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 83,829 recoveries since the first two reported cases on March 12, 2020.
By: Gifty Tracy Aminu
