By Joseph Erunke – Abuja
By Joseph Erunke – AbujaThe federal government has reiterated its confidence in the ability of Astrazeneca vaccine to save lives, saying it would continue to administer the drugs to citizens.
Government said its decisions and advice to continue administering the vaccine were “guided by best practice and scientific evidence.”
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA,which said this in a statement,noted that its “priority is the health and safety of the Nigerian people.”
The statement signed by Mohammad Ohitoto,its
Head, Public Relations Unit, insisted that the “vaccines are safe.”
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“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,”it insisted in the statement.
The statement read in full:”Nigeria is continuing in the process of administering roughly 4 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 United Kingdom which have administered the most doses of AstraZeneca globally.
“The World Health Organization, 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% effective at preventing COVID-19 and 100% effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalization.
“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.”
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