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Ghana on Saturday took delivery of 1,229,620 doses of Moderna COVID -19 Vaccines from the United States (US) Government.

The donation was through the COVAX Facility and the largest shipment of COVID-19 vaccines received in Ghana.

The 1.2 million doses of Moderna will increase the range of COVID-19 vaccines available to Ghana and boost efforts at protecting more people from Coronavirus.

Alhaji Asei Mahama Seini, a Deputy Minister for Health, who received the vaccines said the US support to Ghana was highly appreciated and that the Government of Ghana would ensure that they were used in the fight against the pandemic.

He said an additional 1.3 million Pfizer vaccines were expected in the country by the end of September and thanked the development partners for the support to ensure that herd immunity was achieved in the country.

Madam Stephanie Sullivan, US Ambassador to Ghana, urged the media to keep educating the public on the availability of vaccines in the country and the benefits of vaccination.

She said the vaccines along with other proven COVID-19 prevention protocols would help control the pandemic and slow the development of new variants.

Madam Sullivan said the US Government was committed to leading the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating global vaccine distribution as the world's largest single donor to COVAX.

She said the US had already delivered over 1. 25 million vaccine doses to more than 80 countries, including; 26 million doses to Sub Sahara Africa.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, the USA has contributed over 30 million dollars to Ghana's COVID-19 response, building on decades of partnership in the health sector between the two countries," Madam Sullivan said.

She said the US support to Ghana was aimed at addressing the immediate and long-term effects of the pandemic on the health, agriculture and education sectors and support hard-hit private sector businesses.

The US Ambassador to Ghana said the US would continue to do all it could to build a world that was safer and secured against the threats of infectious diseases.

Madam Anne-Claire Dufay, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Funds (UNICEFs) representative to Ghana, commended the Government of Ghana for its efforts in containing and preventing the spread of Coronavirus in Ghana.

She said the arrival of the vaccines would ensure that more people in Ghana were protected to limit infection spread.

“I would like to call on all Ghanaians to get immunized because this is the only way you can protect yourself and your loved ones," she said.

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is the second vaccine to be granted Emergency Use Authorisation in the United States.

Currently, it is authorized for adults aged 18 and over.

The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommended the use of the Moderna vaccine at a schedule of two doses (100 µg, 0.5 ml each) 28 days apart, if necessary, the interval between the doses may be extended to 42 days.

The Moderna vaccine has been shown to have an efficacy of approximately 94.1 percent in protecting against COVID-19, starting 14 days after the first dose.