Ghana’s program manager for the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Kwame Amponsa-Akyianu has said that among the procedures involved in the COVID-19 vaccination, allergy considerations are included.
According to him, before the vaccine is administered, the client is questioned on whether he or she has any allergies. This, he said was to ensure that vaccinators are “cautious”.
Speaking to Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, he explained: “There are some people who have severe allergies to multiple things. When you have severe allergies, we will be cautious. This is because the vaccine or drug has a lot of components so maybe you might be allergic to that. That is why we ask before injecting the vaccine. Mostly, very few people have that but it is a precautionary measure that we take”.
He furthered that if people are not aware of their allergies, there are still measures in place to ensure that the risk of allergies to the vaccine are minimal.
“If you know your allergies, it is fine but if you don’t, we don’t have a problem we will still go ahead. This is why we make you wait for 15 minutes. If you have any allergies that we are aware of, then we make special provisions for you. It is a standard procedure that we follow so that we can reduce the risk of allergic reactions to the vaccine and other drugs as much as possible”, he added.
Dr. Amponsa-Akyianu noted that the President and Vice President together with their wives were taken through the same procedure of knowing their allergy history before being vaccinated.
On Monday, 1st March 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia together with their wives, First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Second Lady Samira Bawumia received their first doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Prior to taking the vaccines publicly, the President, in his 24th address to the nation, stated that getting vaccinated publicly was to assure Ghanaians that the vaccines are safe.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
