Why Nigeria’ll keep administering AstraZeneca vaccine – FG

The Federal Government has said it will continue the administration of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
It said evidence had shown that apart from being 76 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19, it could also prevent severe disease and hospitalisation.
Head of Public Relations Unit of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mohammad Ohitoto, gave the indication in a statement in Abuja.
The statement said, “Nigeria is continuing in the process of administering roughly four million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, beginning with our frontline health workers and vulnerable individuals. There has been no change to current plans or supply.
“A huge number of countries around the world are administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, including much of Europe, and the United Kingdom, which have administered the most doses of AstraZeneca globally. The World Health Organisation (WHO), British and European health regulators all continue to advocate for the use of AstraZeneca.
“AstraZeneca’s strong effectiveness against COVID-19 has been demonstrated in clinical and human trials: it has been shown to be 76 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19 and 100 per cent effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.”
The statement also said, “Nigeria’s health authorities followed closely recent pronouncements from Europe’s regulator, the EMA. The head of the EMA stated that according to scientific knowledge, there is no evidence to support restricting the use of the vaccine in any population.
“The NPHCDA’s priority is the health and safety of the Nigerian people, and our decisions and advice are guided by best practice and scientific evidence. We are confident in AstraZeneca’s ability to save lives. Vaccines save lives.”