Medical experts have cautioned the Federal Government over its decision to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for the use of Nigerians.
A Professor of Medicine and Neurosciences, Phillip Njemanze, said any vaccine to be used in Nigeria must first be subjected to clinical trials.
Speaking at a webinar hosted by the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage on the ongoing COVID-19 vaccine debate and allied matters with particular focus on the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Pro Njemanze declared that the Pfizer vaccine was not a vaccine but a “genetic device”.
Therefore, he said government should not believe in the efficacy of any vaccine without subjecting it to clinical trial.
He explained that, “Our doctors have to participate in clinical trials. Any vaccine has to be validated in Nigeria and the results validated by Nigerians.”
The expert who is the Chairman of the International Institute of Advanced Research and Training, Chidicon Medical Centre Owerri, Imo State, further stated that the peculiarities of Nigeria were not the same with Europe’s and America’s.
He reiterated that most of the vaccines had allergies which the experts did not have knowledge of, adding that Nigeria must proceed with caution to avoid mass deaths.
Another expert, Dr Regina Akosa, said government should think about the effect the vaccines would have on the general populace, noting that if Nigeria must use any vaccine, it should be locally sourced.
Dr Akosa further said government must set its priority right, noting that spending public resources on vaccines that would be “hijacked” by the high and the mighty was not right.
She added that, “Let us stop arguing about this vaccine and concentrate on what will help our people and not vaccines that the rich will hijack.”
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