Former President John Dramani Mahama has assured Ghanaians that it is safe to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

The former President has, therefore, urged Ghanaians to disregard any rumour about the vaccine and avail themselves of the vaccination.

Mr Mahama and his wife, Lordina, were vaccinated on Tuesday, 2 March 2021 at the Police Hospital in Accra.

In a post on Facebook, the former President said: “Lordina and I this morning took our COVID-19 vaccine at the Police Hospital in Accra. I agreed to take the vaccine publicly, to encourage and assure all Ghanaians that the vaccines are safe.”

He also stated: “As a former Ambassador for the GAVI Alliance, I can confidently say that vaccines are useful in preserving our health. Ghanaians must, therefore, disregard all the rumours about the vaccine.”

The former President also encouraged Ghanaians to continue to mask up and wash their hands regularly to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Ghana's mass vaccination exercise against the deadly virus began on Tuesday, 2 March 2021.

Some 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in the country last week for the vaccination exercise.

The exercise is taking place in 43 districts with high infection rates.

They include 25 in the Greater Accra Region, 16 in the Ashanti Region, and two in the Central Region.

The first batch of people to be vaccinated include healthcare workers, frontline security personnel, persons with underlying medical conditions, persons 60 years and above, and frontline members of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.