Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has announced that a short clinical trial is underway to ascertain the efficiency of Ivermectin in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection.
The governor made this disclosure in a statement on Sunday.
An anti-parasitic agent/medication, Ivermectin is reported to have shown some efficacy in acting as a sustained prophylaxis in containing/inhibiting the causative virus in SARS-CoV-2.
Sanwo-Olu admitted that while the medication is yet to be proven for the treatment of the virus, “the State Government has however taken the bold step of ensuring we have adequate stocks of Ivermectin.”
He added that the “drug will be initially deployed in a short clinical trial to ascertain its efficiency in our population to prevent and treat COVID-19 infection.”
He explained that his administration was also aware that the Federal Government was expecting its first batch of vaccines (Pfizer) from the Covax Facility in February.
Lagos State’s status as the epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria, he said, would be duly considered in the distribution plan.
He said that the state government was finalising its own vaccine strategy while, at the same time, keeping an eye on ongoing vaccine research, development and clinical trials.
“The government is also in constant engagement with all the relevant stakeholders in that space, in the public and private sectors.
“As the vaccines become available in Lagos State, they will be prioritised to the people who need them the most, such as the frontline health workers, people with co-morbidities (medically vulnerable), the elderly (aged 65 and above as well as other essential workers.
“While aligning with the national strategy for deployment of the vaccines, in these early days, Lagos State will also continue to scale up the capacity to flatten the infection curve and minimise the fatality rate, through testing and treatment.’’
