The Russian envoy made the delivery during a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Health in Abuja.
Federal Government has taken delivery of samples of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine from Russia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Alex Shebarshin, on Friday, September 4, 2020.
The vaccine was received on Nigeria’s behalf by the Minister for Health, Osagie Ehanire, from the Russian Ambassador.
According to a monitored media report, the Director of Information, Media and Public Relations of the Ministry of Health, Olujimi Oyetomi, in a statement disclosed that the Russian envoy made the delivery during a courtesy visit to the ministry in Abuja.
The statement pointed out that Ehanire quickly referred the vaccine to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development and others for review and possible validation.
The minister said, ‘’We are exploring all knowledge in terms of therapeutics and vaccines. We are expressing our interest in the Covid-19 vaccine so that we will have the opportunity to work elaborately.’’
In his own remark, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, stated that this opportunity will help to strengthen the collaboration between Russia and Nigeria.
The Ministry’s Director of Hospital Services Department, Dr Adepimpe Adebiyi, said that this is an opportunity to expand our vaccine production. He said the technical officers will interphase with the Russian team in order to strengthen the relationship between Nigeria and Russia.
As vaccine shows no negative side effects.
COVID19 vaccine candidates led to no serious adverse events and elicit antibody response.
Early results from Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine showed no negative side effects, a study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, The Lancet revealed just moments ago.
“Preliminary results from Russian trials find that COVID19 vaccine candidates led to no serious adverse events and elicit an antibody response,” a tweet from the journal’s Twitter account read.
What we know; In Phase 1 and 2 studies of the vaccine, which is named Sputnik V, all 76 study participants developed antibodies to the virus that causes Covid-19, according to Friday’s report in The Lancet.
The levels of neutralizing antibody response were similar to the immune response that people had after naturally recovering from Covid-19, according to the study.
The medical researchers also observed the responses from T cells, another component of the immune system.”[Outcomes from] the trial also suggest the vaccines also produce a T cell response within 28 days,” the researchers wrote
