Nigeria reports 16 more virus deaths, over 460 cases

ANKARA (AA) – Over 460 more coronavirus infections and 16 fatalities were reported in Nigeria on Wednesday.

A total of 464 new cases raised the overall count to 156,963, including 1,939 deaths and 135,831 recoveries, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Over 1.54 million tests have been carried out in Africa’s most populous country since March last year.

Nigeria received the first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines – some 3.94 million doses – under the COVAX initiative on Tuesday.

Authorities have been trying to encourage the country’s 211 million people to get the vaccine shots.

“Do you know that before a vaccine is certified for use, it must receive approval from the WHO [World Health Organization]?” the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said on Twitter on Wednesday evening.

“In addition, all vaccines including COVID-19 vaccine are certified safe for use in Nigeria by NAFDAC [National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control].”