The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday said it is analysing the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines for likely adverse reactions and to ensure it is safe for administration.
On Tuesday, 2nd March, when Nigeria received 3.92 million doses of the vaccines, the Director General of the Agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency will get samples of the vaccines for analysis.
NAFDAC had in February 2021 approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca for emergency use in Nigeria.
But an official at the agency who spoke to BusinessDay on the condition of anonymity said the fact that the agency had approved the vaccines for emergency use in Nigeria is not enough and more studies are still being carried out on the vaccines to find out the likely harm it could cause and ensure maximum safety.
The official also informed that as soon as vaccination kicks off on Friday, 5th March, the pharmacovigilance department of the agency will swing into action to monitor and study how people would feel after taking the vaccines.
He said every data gathered during this study will be sent to the manufacturers of the vaccines.
“NAFDAC is vigilant, we are not resting on our oars, the global community is desperately searching for vaccines and anything can be presented as one. All these we are doing is to ensure that the vaccines are safe for Nigerians,” the official said.
The agency had also in a tweet on Thursday warned that falsified Covid-19 vaccines are already in the global market, so it was focusing on track-and-trace to ensure no infiltration of substandard vaccines in the supply chain.
“Traceability is very important; we can trace the vaccines from airport to the patient,” the agency tweeted.
The DG noted that the essence of all these analyses is to assure Nigerians of safety and for them to be confident in taking the vaccines.
Safety concerns and efficacy around these vaccines have been one of the major factors fuelling vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria and even around the world.
Several Nigerians are worried about the side effects that may occur during administration, especially as the vaccine was produced barely a year and its properties not fully known.
Meanwhile, the federal government has said it will bear any cost in the treatment and management of any adverse reactions or side effects that may occur during vaccination against COVID-19.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who said this recently in Abuja, however noted that chances of such adverse reactions are rare.
“We are dealing with a new vaccine, whose properties are not properly known, we are studying closely what the effects are. The government will cover the cost of handling any adverse or side effects that may arise during the COVID-19 until the affected person is nursed to good health vaccination,” the minister had said.
