No COVID-19 vaccine is better than the other —Experts

EXPERTS say that it might not be possible to say which of the available COVID-19 vaccines is the most effective to prevent severe forms of the coronavirus infection.

This comes amidst the misconception that the production of the vaccines were rushed, and such there may be questions on their safety and efficacy.

Chairman, Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR), Professor Oyewale Tomori, while speaking at the COVID-19 webinar series of the Nigerian Academy of Science, with the theme “COVID-19 Vaccines: Concerns, Challenges, and Nigeria’s Plan” said a comparison of the effectiveness of the various vaccines can only be possible if the clinical trials were done under the same condition during the pandemic.

Professor Tomori, however, assured concerned citizens that all the COVID-19 vaccines meet the World Health Organisation’s minimum requirements on efficacy, adding, “once it meets the minimum efficacy level, it is good to go.”

He declared that it was a misconception that the length of time for the clinical trial of these vaccines was the time it took in production, as the foundation was already developed before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

The virologist said it was a misconception that the vaccine will prevent infection, but rather it will prevent a person with COVID infection developing severe symptoms.

Professor Tomori said local production of the vaccine in Nigeria has been stalled because self-interest is over riding national interest.

According to him, “the enabling environment to produce human vaccine production is not there. The Central Bank said it gave funds to about four people to work on human vaccine production. It’s another waste of money, because we are not addressing the foundational issues. That enabling environment to produce the vaccine is not there.”

Professor Richard Adegbola, a consultant at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), said the safety evaluations of the COVID-19 vaccines were not affected, even though the production was rushed

He said individuals should take the second dose where they had the first dose to ensure consistency, because there is no data suggesting that the vaccines can be mixed and will still confer expected protection.

Adegbola, an immunisation and global health expert, said individuals that experience pain can also take pain killers, assuring that doing so will not affect the expected immune response to the vaccine.

Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Secretary, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, stated that Nigeria’s choice of the Astrazeneca vaccine was not based on cost, saying its producers lowered the price in support of humanity.

Shuaib, represented by NPHCDA’s Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr Bulama Garba, said the low pric has nothing to do with its quality, even as he gave assurance of quality control measures put in place for its effectiveness and pharmacovigilance to ensure the right vaccines get to the right people and at the right time.

Dr Yayha Disu, Head of Risk Communication, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), stated that non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as use of face masks, hand washing and social distancing have varying degrees of reducing the spread of the virus.

Dr Disu, however, said NPIs are necessary even now that the COVID-19 vaccine is available in Nigeria because it will take time for the nation to attain its 70 per cent vaccine coverage target.

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