News Editor
Peter Jerome
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine for emergency use in Nigeria.
This disclosure was made by the NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojiola Adeyeye, in a statement on Tuesday.
Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine which is the third vaccine approved for use in Nigeria after Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccines according to Adeyeye, has met the criteria for efficacy, safety, and quality.
The NAFDAC Boss while speaking further, directed that the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine is administered as a single dose, adding that results from a clinical trial involving people in the United States, South Africa, and Latin American countries found that Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine was effective at preventing COVID-19 in people from 18 years of age.
“The Phase III clinical trial involved over 44,000 people. Half received a single dose of the vaccine and half were given placebo (a dummy injection). People did not know if they had been given Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine or placebo,” Adeyeye said.
She added that the trial showed a 67 percent reduction in the number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases after two weeks in people who received Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.
While speaking on the safety of the vaccine, Adeyeye noted that the most reported side effects were pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and nausea, adding that the side effects were mild to moderate in severity and lasted 1-2 days. He further assured that NAFDAC, in line with its pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring plan for COVID-19 vaccines, will closely monitor and subject the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to several activities that apply specifically to COVID-19 vaccines.
