National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC), has revealed reason why the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered on Nigerians without clinical trial, even as the coronavirus vaccine is expected to be administered on Nigerians in January 2021.
The Agency’s spokesman, Sayo Akintola, who disclosed this yesterday, maintained there was no need for clinical trials because the World Health Organisation had already certified the vaccine.
He said: “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.”
Akintola, noted that a sample of the vaccine will be taken to the laboratory to ascertain it’s safety and efficacy before inoculation on Nigerians.
Recall that the Nigeria Medical Association had asked the Federal Government to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine before administering it on Nigerians.
The Federal Government had already unveiled plans to purchase the vaccine with $40bn, even as President Muhammadu Buhari had reportedly directed the Presidential Taskforce on COVID -19 to proceed with the procurement arrangements.