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Nigerian authorities on Friday approved the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine under the COVAX facility after undergoing an assessment, a development that clears the coast for vaccination in the West African country.
The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which carried out the final evaluation of the vaccine, had certified its use, the National Agency for the Development of Primary Health Care (NPHCDA) said, that is coordinating the administration of vaccines. in Nigeria, in a statement.
This development comes ahead of the vaccination of frontline healthcare workers and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as his deputy and strategic leaders, who are expected to take their first doses of the vaccine.
“After undergoing the final evaluation of NAFDAC, we have the confirmation that they have concluded their final controls with positive results. Nigeria can now go ahead and use the 3.94 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, ”the statement said.
The country received 3.94 million doses of AstraZeneca / Oxford Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesday, the long-awaited first batch of vaccines from the COVAX facility.
It is the first of these shipments expected to be made to Nigeria in efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.
Following the vaccine’s arrival on Tuesday, samples were turned over to NAFDAC for a safety review.
Faisal Shuaib, executive director of NPHCDA, told reporters at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday that frontline health workers would be vaccinated Friday at the Abuja National Hospital, while Buhari and his deputy Yemi Osinbajo would receive their own shots on Saturday.
