GHS does not have adequate evidence on the safety of mixing vaccines – Dr Kuma-Aboagye

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service has advised persons who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca not to present themselves to be inoculated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as they may put their lives at risk.

Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said the Ghana Health Service does not have adequate evidence on the safety of mixing vaccines, hence, persons who have already received jabs of the AstraZeneca vaccines must refrain from taking any of the Johnson & Johnson jabs.

He told JoyNews, Friday, “we have a mechanism of checking on how we ensure that we are giving to those who are qualified.”

“I believe that if someone’s intention is to cheat, by telling them how we intend to check, will make it difficult for us to check, but we don’t have enough evidence for the safety of mixing vaccines and in terms of what benefits you get,” he said.

He further said government has made provisions for the procurement of some 16.9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines which would be received in batches.

Ghana took delivery of 177,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on August 7 as part of the first batch of the Africa Union’s African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

“This is just the first of many tranches that will be coming in. This is a vaccine that is being shared across the world. We know that for the J & J, our stock of what we have secured is about 16.9 million doses.

“They’d be coming from time to time and very soon we’d get a few more tranches,” he said.

Procurement of AstraZeneca vaccines

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye hinted that government would take delivery of AstraZeneca doses vaccines early September.

“Early next month, we will have AstraZeneca for the second dose. The time does not depend only on the Ghana Health Service but it depends on the supplier, availability of transportation to bring it in here.”

“When all those things are put in place, we’d get to know the date of arrival. We should have AstraZeneca next month,” he disclosed.