Chairman of the Health Committee in Parliament, Joseph Yileh Chireh has stated that calls for a suspension of the planned Ebola vaccine trial were borne out of “fear and panic.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”YctewSatfsNMdJjo3WT6z3g5SihOySFJ”]The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) earlier gave an international pharmaceutical company approval to commence Ebola Vaccines trial here in Ghana.
However the Ministry of Health suspended the trials after several calls from some Members of Parliament and various stakeholders who argued the exercise poses a risk to residents in the area.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Chireh who was dismayed by the position of his colleagues in Parliament, stated that their calls were based on fear and panic, adding that such fears were uncalled for.
“Some of my colleagues were talking as if there were some illegalities going on. The Ministry of Health was fully aware of what is going on… People are just creating fear and panic,”he said.
He wondered why there had been calls for a suspension when various stakeholders involved in the project went through the necessary procedures before approving the trial.
Mr. Chireh pointed out that though the vaccines had been used in other countries, Ghanaians have every right to resist it if they think it is not advisable.
“The vaccine was used in Liberia and Sierra Leone but if we don’t want it we have every right to reject it, but we should not confuse scientific facts,” he stated.
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah