Following a prompt evaluation of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved it for use in Nigeria.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr Mojisola Adeyeye who announced the approval also said that it intends to add more to its COVID-19 vaccine portfolio.
Hence, three other supplementary vaccines are undergoing similar profiling.
The World Health Organisation, W.H.O, recently approved Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
Consequently, NAFDAC received the dossier of the vaccine and its safety committees profiled its efficacy on Nigerians. The committee found that AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe for use.
The vaccine is also effective against the UK and South Africa strains of the COVID-19 virus but the former is the only one reported in Nigeria.
Aside from that, NAFDAC is reviewing 30 herbal medicine as possible treatment for COVID-19.
- Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
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AstraZeneca Vaccine in Nigeria
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which has the scientific name ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and code name AZD1222, is a viral vector vaccine.
It was developed from a chimpanzees adenovirus and modified. This means that when it is injected into the body, it teaches the immune system to form a response against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for COVID-19).
It requires just a storage temperature of 2 to 8-degree centigrade, unlike Phizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Its shelf life is also longer.
However, Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is only 62 per cent effective with two doses schedule.