The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has approved Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed this during a Press Conference on Thursday said the agency got the vaccine’s dossier a week ago.
According to Adeyeye, the NAFDAC safety committee went to work immediately to evaluate Nigerians’ safety and efficacy.
The NAFDAC boss said AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine‘s evaluation shows that it is effective against the UK COVID-19 variant reported in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Adeyeye said the South African variant had not been reported in Nigeria and that the agency has over 30 herbal medicine undergoing review.
AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
Adeyeye said the vaccine could be stored at 2 to 8-degree centigrade, adding that there are three additional vaccines undergoing evaluation.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, also known as ChAdOx1 or AZD1222 is a viral vector vaccine used by scientists to train the immune system to mount a strong response against COVID-19.
However, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization had issued interim recommendations for using the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The group recommended vaccination for persons with obesity, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes.
