There are indications that fake and illegal COVID-19 vaccines may soon flood the Nigerian market due to the it’s demands, thus experts have advised that the federal government should as matter of urgency, put measures in place.
This became necessary after the Interpol; the global police in China and South Africa reportedly seized thousands of fake doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.
The Lyon-based agency Interpol said 400 vials – equivalent to around 2,400 doses – containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where officers also recovered fake masks and arrested three Chinese and a Zambian national.
The situation has raised questions about readiness of Nigeria to prevent fake vaccines from getting into the country, a situation that could increase concerns about efficacy and apathy.
Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire said: “All questions as regards the COVID-19 vaccines can be directed to the Ministry of Health and NPHCDA. This is not a time to be making private arrangements for vaccine procurement and administration. Vaccines that are not approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will be determined as dangerous, and will be seized by Customs Services and NAFDAC, who are on high alert for illegal vaccine importation.”
Ehanire said that manufacturers of vaccines require an official indemnification to be able to use their product, which Nigeria has provided for the COVAX facility, adding that vaccines from other sources must first have NAFDAC’s Emergency Use Authorisation, and are not covered under the indemnification arrangement warning that such vaccines will be illegal and therefore subject to be impounded by NAFDAC and Customs.
Director General, Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Lagos, Prof. Babatunde Salako, said: “Government has warned that there are already fake vaccine around and that people should take vaccine only from government facilities. People should also be patient, as more vaccines will come into the country, just as government is still negotiating with other vaccine manufacturers to provide adequate vaccine for at least 70-80 percent of Nigerians.”
