AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
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.
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.