BREAKING: Covid-19: NAFDAC authorizes AstraZeneca vaccine

Victoria Ogunrinde

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC, on Thursday approved the use of AstraZeneca Vaccine for use in Nigeria.

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

The Director-General, NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed this 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.

However, considering the achievement of this milestone, Nigeria in a better position in the ongoing battle against the infection of Coronavirus pandemic among the global community.

Adeyeye who affirmed that the vaccine could be stored in two to eight degrees Centigrade, also explained that there were three additional vaccines undergoing evaluation.

“The evaluation on Astrazeneca shows that the vaccine is effective against the United Kingdom variant of the virus which has been reported in Nigeria,” she said.

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.