An approval has been given by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for the use Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria’s emergencies.
Reports say the nod from NAFDAC is coming a few months after the agency approved the use of the Oxford-Astrazeneca jab in the country.
The development was made public by the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, during a virtual meeting which held in Lagos on Friday, during which she noted that the vaccine is for emergency use in the country.
While reacting to issues on storage facilities for the Pfizer vaccine, Adeyeye said based on new development from the manufacturers, the vaccine can now be stored between -15% to -25 %, which is equivalent to freezer temperature.
She further stated that the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has capacity to store the vaccine.
The possibility of getting the vaccine through private health facilities was ruled out in which she said only Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) can import the vaccine into the country.
The NAFDAC DG added that the vaccine can also be brought into the country through the COVAX facility, which ensures that poor and developing countries have access to COVID-19 vaccines.