Nigeria evaluating four coronavirus vaccines - Minister

Nigeria is evaluating four coronavirus vaccines for possible approval, including Russian, Indian and Chinese jabs, the health minister said on Monday.

NAFDAC has dossiers for Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the Covishield-branded AstraZeneca shot made by India’s Serum Institute, Covaxin by India’s Bharat vaccines and China’s Sinopharm.

“Some of them are nearly ready for results,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said at a briefing.

Officials said Nigeria expects to receive 16 million doses of vaccines against the disease soon.

Nigeria managed to avoid the brunt of infections after the pandemic first emerged in China in late 2019, but cases have surged in a second wave since November.