The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was recently withdrawn, and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has acknowledged that this was primarily due to commercial concerns.
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, clarified the situation while speaking to the media on the sidelines of the COVID-19 Vaccination and Child Health Promotion Week/African Vaccination Week Campaign in several locations within the Ga East Municipality in Accra.
According to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, commercial considerations overrode medical concerns in the decision to withdraw.
“They are withdrawing for commercial reasons in the 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 said.
The decision was made due to the abundance of updated vaccines that became available after the pandemic, according to the company’s explanation for the withdrawal.
After AstraZeneca’s vaccine manufacturers announced a global recall, the pharmaceutical behemoth admitted to the existence of an uncommon side effect known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).
The development of blood clots, which can block veins or arteries and cause symptoms like unilateral leg pain and swelling, chest discomfort, or numbness on one side of the body, is what defines TTS. Thrombosis-related complications such as heart attacks or strokes can be lethal.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has recorded 31 new COVID-19 cases in the country over the previous week. These cases are not severe, according to Dr. Kwame Amponsah-Achiano, the Ghana Health Service’s Programmes Manager for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.
Source: Pulse Ghana