The Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has told Nigerians to reject any COVID-19 vaccine brought to them except the agency has approved it.

Adeyeye disclosed this at a briefing on Friday, saying the approval of World Health Organisation (WHO) was not enough, except the agency confirmed the safety of the vaccine for the consumption.

“The WHO will say that unless the regulatory agency of a country approves a vaccine, it should not be used. WHO is not a regulatory agency that will approve and say use; they are there to guide and give regulatory agencies more confidence.

“If a product is already on WHO emergency use listing, the regulatory agency will still look at the application. That doesn’t mean we just pass it like that, we will have to read it within the context of our environment. No vaccine or commodity can be used unless it passes through NAFDAC in Nigeria.

“Vaccines should not be ordered by any company or corporation. The companies that manufacture the vaccines if they are genuine companies know they have to submit their application to NAFDAC.

 “No government establishment or agencies should order COVID-19 vaccines without confirming from NAFDAC if the vaccine has been approved, she said”

The added that “The agency assures applicants that if phase three clinical data are very convincing and robust with regards to safety and efficacy and the vaccine has been submitted for WHO for Emergency Use Listing, NAFDAC will welcome the application for Emergency Use Authorisation in Nigeria.”