GHS Warns of COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects After Second Dose…GHS

Ahead of the second round of COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has told inoculation candidates to expect side effects from the upcoming boosters.

Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye has said that symptoms experienced from the first dose, including headaches and other discomforts, will persist with the second dose.

“Yes, you should expect it. It is going to come up with the same effects. You are going to get boost of immunity and so you are likely to have some side effects. But people who didn’t have it the first time may have it this time or may not have it at all. So we are not going to expect anything different from what we saw the first time,” he told journalists.

Generally, side-effects reported by persons who received the first round of vaccination in Ghana have been general discomforts including headaches and bodily weakness, far milder than serious ramifications recorded elsewhere in places such as Europe where blood clots and death have been reported.

Ghana rolls out its second round of COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday May 19 after the government took delivery of some 350,000 vaccines to enable it to attain its objective of herd immunity.

The GHS emphasizes that only those who received the first dose are eligible for the second one.

“Those who had their first dose from the 1st to the 9th March will be those that will be covered. We are hoping that by 26th May, we will finish but it is not really definite we will just go on until all the 350,000 are vaccinated. And if we are able to get more vaccines immediately we will continue,” Dr Aboagye emphasized.