COVID-19 vaccines will be free in all hospitals across the country

The Presidential Advisor on Health has said that COVID-19 vaccines would not be sold in any health facility in the country.

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare said the vaccines are to be administered to the public for free in all hospitals, including private health facilities.

“If the private sector at the private health facility wants to finance the procurement of the vaccines, they are free to do that through the Ministry of Health, but they cannot bring it in and sell for profit. No, we are giving everything out free of charge,” he stated in an interview on Accra-based Joy News.

Explaining why the vaccines would be at no cost to recipients, Dr Nsiah-Asare said, “We don’t want money to be a barrier, so there should be no financial barrier to anybody”.

He added that the private health sectors could help in the vaccination exercise by offering their facilities as vaccination centres.

“We want the vaccines to reach as many people who need it, ” he added.

His comment comes after the first shipment of 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India arrived in the country on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

Ghana is among 145 countries listed to receive vaccines from suppliers through the COVAX Facility, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine doses is expected to begin on Tuesday, March 2, per the vaccination programme’s timeliness.

He further added that schools and church premises would also be used as vaccination centres.

For people who can not move out of their homes, Mr Nsiah-Asare stated that health workers would be deployed to vaccinate them in their various houses.