COVID-19: NAFDAC approves AstraZeneca vaccine for use in Nigeria

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has approved the use of AstraZeneca Vaccine for use in Nigeria, it’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said on Thursday.

With this development, Nigeria stands in a better position in the ongoing battle against the infection of Coronavirus pandemic among the global community.

VAM News had reported that the Astrazeneca vaccine was recently approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use to curtail the spread of COVID-19

Adeyeye at a press conference in Abuja said NAFDAC got the dossier of the vaccine a week ago, while its safety committee went to work immediately to evaluate its safety and efficacy for Nigerians.

While affirming that the vaccine could be stored in two to eight degrees Centigrade, she explained that there were three additional vaccines undergoing evaluation.

According to her, the evaluation on Astrazeneca shows that the vaccine is effective against the United Kingdom variant of the virus which has been reported in Nigeria.

The NAFDAC DG stressed that the South African variant has not been reported in Nigeria, while the agency has over 30 herbal medicines undergoing review for listing.