Osagie Ehanire, minister of
health, says COVID-19 vaccines carry a certain amount of risk.
Nigeria is expected to receive
its first batch of allocated doses by the end of February.
On February 11, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) released a document detailing the use and risks associated
with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
According to the WHO, “people
with a history of severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine
should not take it,” and it is also not recommended for persons younger than 18
years “pending the results of further studies”.
At a briefing by the presidential
task force (PTF) on Monday, Ehanire said arrangements have been made for
effective distribution, and as such,
government won’t be responsible for the safety of vaccines given outside
its framework.
“It is important to stress that
all COVID-19 vaccines carry a certain amount of risk, and any vaccine not
approved by the federal ministry of health through its agencies cannot be used
in Nigeria,” he said.
“The government will not be
responsible for the safety or efficacy of vaccines given outside the framework
of the government. All the needs of Nigeria have been carefully calculated by
NPHCDA, and it is possible to accommodate all interests in the framework.
“We have continued to work on the rollout of
our COVID-19 vaccines, when they arrive. This morning, I inaugurated the
vaccine coordination committee, an inter-ministerial, multi-sectoral committee
to address diverse issues peculiar to COVID-19 vaccine acquisition by Nigeria.
Their function is to advise on coordinating access to acquisition and distribution
of vaccines when available, and on our immunisation strategy.
“The ministry of health also
engaged the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), who informed us of
the free allocation of 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, of which
500,000 doses are expected by the end of this month, courtesy of MTN donation
of seven million doses to Africa. The balance of 900,000 doses for Nigeria is
expected by the end of March 2021. Other sources of vaccines are under
negotiation.”
According to the minister, the
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has
received dossiers for vaccines manufactured in Russia, India, and China for
evaluation and validation for use in Nigeria, with some of them nearly ready
for results.
He said with regards to AVATT, on
Monday, Nigeria completed its account opening, signed by two officials each
from the ministry of health, ministry of finance, and office of budget and
national planning at the Afrexim Bank, as a requirement for access to vaccines
on that platform.
This, he said, will give Nigeria
access to a much larger portfolio and variety of vaccines.
“Among the vaccines are the
Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, and as much of the Pfizer mRNA
vaccines as we can manage. The COVID-19 vaccine coordinating committee and
NPHCDA’s strategy for vaccine delivery will advise on the mix of vaccines that
Nigeria will acquire,” he added.
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