COVID-19 vaccine will be administered without clinical trial, NAFDAC says

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By Aiyeku Timothy

The National Agency for food and drug administration, (NAFDAC), has insisted that the planned roll-out of coronavirus vaccines in Nigeria, expected to begin in January will be administered without any clinical trial.

NAFDAC spokesman, Sayo Akintola, in an interview said local trials for the vaccine were unnecessary because the vaccine has been certified by the World Health Organisation, (WHO).

“The truth is that once a vaccine is approved by the WHO, it is assumed that it has passed through some preliminary stages of the trial.

“It is a known fact that for the WHO to sanction a vaccine, it must have gone through a series of trials here and there,” he said.

He, therefore stated that the agency will take a sample of the vaccine to the lab for its “safety and efficacy” to be ascertained before inoculation.

This is after the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) had asked the federal government to do its evaluation of the COVID-19 vaccine before administering it on Nigerians.

NAFDAC has now taken its position to proceed with vaccinations, trusting WHO’s expertise as
about 40 million Nigerians may receive it for free when the vaccine eventually arrives in the country.

However, there are fears that some Nigerians will refuse to be vaccinated for lack of trust.

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