Coronavirus
Russia approves its third Covid-19 vaccine
Russia has approved its third vaccine against the coronavirus disease for domestic use.
Russia has announced that it has approved its third vaccine against the coronavirus disease for domestic use.
Moscow was the first country to register a vaccine against Covid-19, Sputnik V, in August 2020, ahead of trials.
According to a report from Reuters, this was disclosed by the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, while speaking on State TV, on Saturday, although large-scale clinical trials of the vaccine, labelled CoviVac and produced by the Chumakov Centre, is yet to commence.
Mishustin said, “Today, Russia is the only country to have already three vaccines against COVID-19.’’
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Russia has already approved 2 Covid-19 vaccines, including the Sputnik V shot, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute and has been approved in over 2 dozen countries across the globe.
The preemptive approvals which were first greeted with scepticism, had some scientists from the West raise concerns, but vaccinations with those first two shots began on a mass scale in Russia only after trials were concluded and showed success.
Sputnik V was approved in August and late-stage trials began in September. Mass vaccination was launched in December after preliminary trial results showed the vaccine to be 91.4% effective.
READ: Covid-19: Prime Minister of Eswatini dies of the virus
The Russian Health Minister, Mikhail Murashko had revealed that over 2 million Russians have been vaccinated with at least the first dose of Sputnik V, since then.
The rollout of a second vaccine, developed by the Vector Institute in Novosibirsk, is beginning.
The CoviVac vaccine which was produced by state-run Chumak Centre based in Moscow has employed a different method from Sputnik and EpiVacCorona, using inactive virus.
Unlike the Sputnik V vaccine, which uses a modified harmless cold virus that tricks the body into producing antigens to help the immune system prepare for a coronavirus infection, the CoviVac vaccine is a whole-virion vaccine.
READ: COVID-19: WHO advises vaccine firms and wealthy nations to stop bilateral deals
The Chumakov Centre’s director, Aidar Ishmukhametov, said on Saturday, “The vaccine we have developed… reflects the whole history of Russian, as well as global, vaccine science.’’
He said that the Chumakov Centre is expecting to produce around half a million doses per month on its platforms, Ishmukhametov said on Saturday.
Deputy Prime Minister Golikova also announced on Saturday that Russia will produce 88 million vaccine doses in the first half of this year, including 83 million Sputnik V doses.
What you should know
- It can be recalled that in a televised government meeting, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, had announced the registration of its first Covid-19 vaccine in what was then seen as a step ahead of other vaccine development.
- The vaccine which was developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute in collaboration with the Russian Investment Fund was said to give effective protection against the deadly disease.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in October that the country had registered its second vaccine, EpiVacCorona, which health officials had said would enter mass production this month.
Coronavirus
FG launches strategy for introduction of Covid-19 vaccine
The FG has launched a strategy for the phased and equitable introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine across the country.
The Federal Government has launched a strategy for the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine in a phased and equitable manner across the country.
The strategy code-named, “T.E.A.C.H”, was initiated by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH).
According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, during the inauguration said the launch of T.E.A.C.H and Electronic Management of Immunization Data (EMID) will ensure the smooth rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign across the country.
What the Minister of Health is saying
Ehanire stated, “Our goal is to introduce COVID-19 vaccine in a phased and equitable manner, based on the advice of the WHO and the experience we observe other countries to have made, and ultimately vaccinating all eligible Nigerians within the next two years, to ensure herd immunity.
“We in Nigeria finally have the privilege of joining other countries to start the vaccination, which will prioritise, first those people most at risk of infection due to their exposure in the line of duty.
”Vaccination with safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a critical part of the country’s strategy to counter the COVID-19 pandemic and the stop transmission of the virus. No private hospital or organisation has experience in handling this type of vaccine than the NPHCDA,” he said.
The minister also said that vaccines that were not approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) would be determined as dangerous and would be seized by the Nigeria Customs Services.
The minister also noted that in less than 24 hours, the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines would arrive the country from the COVAX Facility and would be deployed.
On his own part, the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said a lot of work had been done to reduce the casualty of Covid-19 in the country’s population.
Ihekweazu, who was represented by Head of Special Projects and Partnerships at NCDC, Dr Priscilla Ibekwe said that a sister agency, the NPHCDA, was prepared to lead the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in the country and NCDC would collaborate with them to ensure a successful campaign.
The Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, in his introduction of the T.E.A.C.H Strategy, said it was an Indigenous approach to roll out the Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Shuaib said that the Country has provided an e-registration link to enable Nigerians to register for the Covid-19 vaccines themselves, to obtain their pre-vaccination numbers and scheduled date
He said that the first phase of the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country would target front-line health workers, Covid-19 rapid response teams, laboratory network, petrol station workers and strategic leaders.
According to him, How COVID-19 will be rolled out, Phase 1- healthcare workers, security agents, first responders, petrol station workers, laboratory workers, and strategic political leadership.
What you should know
- It can be recalled that the Federal Government had announced that Nigeria would receive its first batch of 4 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from the COVAX initiative on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.
- The COVAX Facility which is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), with UNICEF as a key implementing partner, is a global scheme to procure and equitably distribute vaccines for free, especially among poorer countries, as the world moves to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus
How to register for Covid-19 vaccination in Nigeria
The NPHCDA has announced guidelines to register for COVID-19 vaccinations.
