We’re not in haste for Pfizer vaccine – FG

The Federal Government says Nigeria is not in a haste to acquire and deploy the use of the latest COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech as the government wants to be at least 90 percent sure of the effectiveness of the vaccine.

The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

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The World Health Organisation had said that apart from the vaccine from Pfizer, there were 10 other vaccine candidates in advanced stage of clinical trial, with 37 vaccine candidates in human trial.

Mamora expressed optimism that not only would the country have a fair share of the vaccines when available, there were many other vaccines that would come on the horizon from which Nigeria could make its choice that best fitted its situation.

According to him, even when the vaccines are ready, Nigeria will have to work to ensure the vaccines are stored at minus 70 degrees centigrade.

“Regarding the vaccine, as at the moment, we have so many vaccine candidates. The latest we have right now is the Pfizer – the one which we’re told or already have been established to have minimum of 90 percent success rate. Having said that, we are still looking at what’ll happen eventually.

“We do know that this is a vaccine that has to be kept at nothing less than minus 70 degrees centigrade; that’s a huge thing to achieve.

“We don’t know at the end of the day which of the vaccines will be suitable for our own situation. Because even the technology to get the vaccine below that kind of temperature is an issue. We’re waiting to see what happens,” Mamora said.

Country Representative, WHO, Walter Kazadi Mulombo, said: “We had communication from Pfizer about the early indication of the efficacy of the vaccine, and some economies are reserving some dose.”