There’s no approved vaccine for COVID-19 in Nigeria, Africa – WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has debunked claims of vaccines developed for the COVID-19 in Nigeria, saying the claims were untrue and not to its knowledge.
The WHO immunisation team Lead, Dr. Fiona Braka. who was reacting to claims, said that there is no approved vaccine in Nigeria or any part of Africa for COVID-19 yet.
Describing the rumour as untrue, she said that research is still ongoing on the deadly viral disease, adding that it has no ready vaccines.
“COVID-19 is a new disease and as such, there are no ready vaccines available to be deployed for the control of the pandemic.
“However, a lot of research and scientific works are ongoing to develop vaccines, but these usually take time to ensure that it is safe for use in the wider population and also effective for control of the pandemic.
“Public safety is a key consideration in this process,” Dr. Braka said.
Braka reiterated that the claims of vaccines developed for the COVID-19 pandemic were untrue and not to the knowledge of the WHO.
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“WHO is not aware of vaccine for COVID-19 in Nigeria.
“There is a large scientific study (clinical trial) involving many countries to review the effectiveness of some drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 going on at the moment.
“The result of this clinical trial will help understand the efficacy of these drugs and may inform the review of the case management guidelines,” she added.
On the partnership between the organisation and the federal government to effectively contain the pandemic, she said that the actions to take at the moment include social distancing, handwashing, surveillance and contact tracing, among others.
