Nigeria has indicated interest to join the World Health Organization (WHO)organization’s COVID-19 vaccine “solidarity trial”, an international clinica
Nigeria has indicated interest to join the World Health Organization (WHO)organization’s COVID-19 vaccine “solidarity trial”, an international clinical trial to help find a cure for the disease. WHO said there are about 89 vaccines currently being developed across the world against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Of the 89 vaccines in development, the WHO said seven are currently undergoing clinical evaluation while several of them are on clinical trials. This came as Federal Government said Nigerians may have to learn to live with the Covid-19 until there is a vaccine to halt its spread. Government also asked the organized labour to develop new strategies for work place operations at the end of the current outbreak of the pandemic. These were part of the disclosures at a recent briefing of the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 in Abuja.
WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Fiona Braka who spoke of the rigorous processes involved in approving a vaccine for any disease said 89 vaccines are currently in development globally. She said; “on the subject of vaccines and clinical trials for Covid-19, I will like to say that research and development is an important aspect of the response and researchers around the world are working hard on accelerating the development of vaccines and therapeutics for Covid-19.
WHO has launched various working groups to accelerate various aspects of vaccine development.
“Together with global health actors and partners, over the past week, WHO launched the Access to Covid-19 Tools ACT Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development for equitable access to new Covid-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. We have a total of 89 vaccines that are in development globally, including seven in clinical evaluation and several therapeutics are in clinical trials.
“WHO is committed to ensuring that as medicines and vaccines are developed, they are shared equitably with all countries and people. We do have the solidarity trial which is an international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for Covid-19, launched by the WHO and partners. More than 100 countries have joined the solidarity trial and to date, over 1, 200 patients have been randomized from the first five countries to evaluate the safety and efficacy of full drug and drug combinations. Nigeria has also expressed interest to be part of this solidarity trial and efforts are underway to start the process in Nigeria”, she added.
