Minister explains non-local production of vaccines
The Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire has explained that due to the government’s inability to procure the technology needed to produce vaccines, the possibility of the country starting its local production of the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines have been stalled.
He, however, disclosed that the N10 billion earmarked by the National Assembly for that purpose is still intact, as it is still in talks with current local vaccine company called Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited.
He spoke at the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 briefing yesterday in Abuja.
Ehanire said: “Nigeria is a 49 per cent shareholder in a company called Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited, and the bio-vaccine is a revival of the former vaccine plants that the Federal Government used to have, in which the private sector was invited to join and form a special purpose vehicle-a company called Bio-Vaccine. This was conceived before COVID-19.
“Now the joint venture was stalled because of the outbreak-when there was a lockdown and when nothing could move. So, there was a lot of delay by the company in getting itself on its feet. With the outbreak of COVID-19, all countries were looking forward to the vaccine, including Nigeria.
“Believing that it is possible to easily find a partner to import the technology to produce our own vaccines here, the National Assembly earmarked N10 billion for the production of vaccines. I assure you that not one kobo has been taken out of it. It has not been too easy to import that technology to start producing the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Therefore, the aspiration to produce vaccines has not been fulfilled. It is not that it is abandoned; we are working on it and I have spoken with one of the members of the board of management of the bio-vaccine and we are working on getting that technology to produce routine vaccines and also produce COVID-19 vaccines under license and importation of the technology and partnership for it.”
Continuing, he said: “The Serum Institute of India in which we are going to partner, currently has a lot of its own challenges taking care of the problems in their own country. That is why that situation is still where it is. We are hoping that there will be other partners who will join with bio-vaccine to get that project on its feet.
“There is great interest now in this continent having a COVID-19 vaccine producing facility and Nigeria is also interested in that, and we are trying to see what we can do to ginger bio-vaccine up.
“We have to be producing vaccines because the vaccine nationalism means that all people take care of themselves before they take care of others. Therefore, we need to get on our feet to take care of ourselves.”
The Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said the country now carries out between 30,000 and 40,000 tests weekly, hinging Nigeria closer to the 2,000,000 test target.
He said: “We have sustained our testing efforts between 30,000 and 40,000 tests per week, and we are now close to the two million marks; a little bit later than we anticipated, but still, a good progress that we have been able to maintain this over the last few months.
“So, whether it is in terms of reagents, human resources training, laboratories, we are trying to change a whole landscape for health security because that is what is required in the long-term to keep Nigeria safe.
“There are rapid diagnostic test kits now which are easy to use, and we are working to get them to the frontlines across the states.
“Many states are now taking this whole business very seriously, and states are investing in themselves.
“Enugu State Governor just called me to say that they have built up a laboratory themselves and asked us for support on advice on what to buy and how to develop that infrastructure.
“I think many more states are now aware of the risk that they face, and why it is important to invest in this.”
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