The Russian government has presented some samples of its Covid-19 vaccine to the Nigerian government in Abuja.
Receiving the samples of the vaccine from the Russia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, at the Ministry of Health Abuja on Friday, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire 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.”
A statement by the Ministry of Health quoted the minister as saying that Nigeria had been taking part in a series of knowledge exchange and contact with several research bodies and nations in a bid to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Director of Hospital Services Department in Nigeria’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Adepimpe Adebiyi, who was also present at the event said it was an opportunity to expand Nigeria’s vaccine production.
“The technical officers will interphase with the Russian team in order to strengthen the relationship between Nigeria and Russia,” he said.
The statement added that the Russian Ambassador also handed over to the Minister an aide memoire, which gives details about the vaccine to help the Nigerian Government conduct further research on it.
The report by Nigeria’s Channels Television on Friday recalled that Russia had on August 11, 2020, announced that it had developed the vaccine which has now shown some signs of success in early trials.
It added that the patients involved in early tests of the vaccine developed antibodies with “no serious adverse events” according to research published in The Lancet Friday, but experts said the trials were too small to prove safety and effectiveness.
Russia announced last month that its vaccine, named “Sputnik V” after the Soviet-era satellite that was the first launched into space in 1957, had already received approval.
GIK/APA