- * Nigeria Won’t Take Expired Vaccines Again, Says NAFDAC D-G
By JVNN Okafor (Editor, Brands & Products)
With the rising rate of covid-19 Omicron variant afflictions across the globe, the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians against the neglect of the approved covid-19 safety measures.
NAFDAC also said the agency will no longer accept delivery of expired or about to expire vaccines in the New Year.
Director-General of the food and drug regulatory body, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency is working with international partners to ensure that Nigeria gets vaccines with long expiration dates.
NAFDAC and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) recently destroyed one million doses of covid-19 vaccines that expired in November this in an exercise to protect public health
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 1,066,214 doses of expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines were destroyed at the Gosa Dumping site in Abuja.
Related Article: NAFDAC TO SHRINK DRUG IMPORTATION FROM 70% TO 30% BY 2025
Adeyeye told NAN, on Wednesday in Lagos, that the expired vaccines had very short expiration dates which made it impossible to be administered in time due to logistics reasons. “When developed countries started using the vaccine for many months, we didn’t have access to them until we started receiving donations, not just through COVAX alone but from some countries also.
“The expiration date was shorter than what it was supposed to be and between the time we tested and start using it, there was not enough time and that was the only reason not because we were careless. But going forward, we are working with international partners to ensure the expiration date of any vaccine we will be receiving are up to five or six months.”
The NAFDAC DG said studies on the new Omicron variant of the Coro virus were still ongoing globally. Prof. Adeyeye counseled the citizens to continue to adhere to the safety measures given by the various health authorities to further curb the spread of the virus.
“A lot is still not known about Omicron because studies are still going on globally about the variant..The only way to keep safe is to continue with the usage of mask, maintain social distancing, wash our hands regularly and avoid crowded areas to stay safe,” she said. (With additional reports from NAN). NNL.
