The Government of Ghana is spending over US$200 million to procure COVID-19 vaccine for the entire population.

Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), who said this in Accra on Thursday, said the price of the vaccine available presently ranged from USD 4 to US$20 and that would be the cost at which every Ghanaian would be vaccinated.

He told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the first consignment of the vaccine would arrive in the country by the end of February.

“The goal is to vaccinate every Ghanaian and presently we are in excess of US$ 200 million,” he said.

The Director of Public Health said the Service was opting for readily available vaccines to ensure that the vaccination process was not prolonged.

A vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases.

It is prepared from the causative agent of a disease; its products are treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.

Experts say it typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination, meaning it is possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick.

Based on existing knowledge on vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may also help keep one from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.

If one gets vaccinated, it may also protect people around him or her, particularly, people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.