COVID-19 VACCINE WILL BE ADMINISTERED WITHOUT CLINICAL TRIAL….. ~NAFDAC counters NMA

by Peter Henry Dee

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has come out to say that the coronavirus vaccines would be administered to the Nigerians without subjecting it to a fresh clinical trial, when the relevant authorities finally roll-out the vaccine.

Brave Views gathered that the vaccination exercise is expected to begin later this month (January).

NAFDAC’s position runs contrary to the stand of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), which urged the Federal Government to first carry out its clinical evaluation of the COVID-19 vaccine before administering it on Nigerians.

The spokesman of NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, made the Agency’s position known, during an interview with reporters.

Sayo argued that subjecting the vaccine local trial was not necessary, since According to him, the vaccine was already 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”.

However, the NAFDAC’S spokesman further explained that a sample of the vaccine would be taken to the Laboratory for its “safety and efficacy” to be ascertained before inoculation.

It is worthy to note that with NAFDAC’s position, Nigeria’s health authorities may very well proceed with vaccinations, trusting the expertise of World Health Organization (WHO).

If the vaccine eventually arrives in Nigeria, almost 40 million Nigerians may receive it for free, following the earlier disclosur made by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.

Recall that President Buhari had directed that the relevant authorities proceed with arrangements of procuring the vaccine.