The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja.

He said, “We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92m doses of Oxford-Astrazeneca by end of July or early August.

“As we receive additional information on the exact dates in August, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details.”

Shuaib also disclosed that recent research from Public Health England had revealed that the Indian variant of the virus also known as the Delta variant B.1.617.2 is 92% susceptible to Oxford-AstraZeneca.

He added, “It is therefore comforting to know that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against this variant that caused high morbidity and mortality in India.

“However, it underscores the need for us to ramp up our vaccination to more Nigerians.”

The agency said the warning was imperative to ensure people did not risk being vaccinated with the fake Astrazeneca vaccine.

The position of NAFDAC is contained in a statement signed by the agency’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, on Sunday, in Abuja.

She said “AZOU gave the license of its vaccine to Serum Institute of India PVT Ltd, (SIIPL), to manufacture this vaccine at a commercial scale. SIIPL is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and the company got the license by signing the manufacturing agreement. SIIPL gave the vaccine the trade name COVISHIELD, it is the result of cooperation and a technology transfer from AstraZeneca – the University of Oxford to SIIPL. SIIPL is now the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by the number of doses produced and sold globally. More than 1.5 billion doses, which include Polio vaccine, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella,”

A number of countries have suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns over reported negative effects.

However, the federal government yesterday, March 15, assured Nigerians of its safety.

Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, at the media briefing by the Presidential Taskforce on the Control of COVID-19 on Monday, March 15, in Abuja, said the Federal Ministry of Health was impressed by the cooperation received from Nigerians since the commencement of the vaccination.

Reacting to reports of alleged blood clotting as side effects of AstraZeneca vaccine in some European countries, Ehanire said: “Since the rollout on Friday, March 5, vaccination has been uneventful and no adverse health events have been recorded in Nigeria. I am pleased to say that their excellencies, the president and vice president, as well as strategic leaders who have taken the vaccine along with frontline healthcare workers, are all doing very well. I assure everyone that the vaccine is safe. NAFDAC is collaborating with WHO, manufacturers and partners to evaluate other vaccines and also add to our portfolio of vaccines”

The Executive Director of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, also said over 8,000 Nigerians had been vaccinated without any single report of serious adverse effect.

Shuaib said: “As part of COVID-19 vaccine launch, which commenced last week across the country, over 8,000 Nigerians have been immunised so far. We have not received any official report of serious adverse effects from any of those who have been vaccinated”

Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said in a statement “The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has recommended that the administration of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca be temporarily deferred from this morning,”

He said the recommendation has been made “on the precautionary principal” after “a report from the Norwegian Medicines Agency of four new reports of serious blood clotting events in adults after vaccination”.