The director-general of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has said that Nigeria does not have enough capacity to produce vaccines.
Ihekweazu disclosed this on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 during a television programme in Abuja.
He expressed optimism that the country will not lack access to vaccines when they are available, but Nigeria will not be producing any.
He, however, said most of the vaccines would have to be produced in India and other countries, but the country will leverage on its sophisticated distribution system through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA.
The NCDC Director-General said: “The most important thing in short-term goal for a vaccine is access.
We are part of a global coalition called COVAX that is working very hard to ensure equitable access across the world once these vaccines become available.
“There are two important criteria for vaccines – efficacy, that is if they work, and safety. Once this is proven, and we hope to get that data by the end of the year, then the next big issue is production capacity.
“We don’t have a lot in Nigeria; most of the production will likely happen in India and a few other countries. The third aspect will then be the distribution. That is where we really have a lot of capacity.”
