Nigeria warns of reported fake COVID-19 vaccines

ANKARA (AA) - Nigerian health officials warned its public Friday about using fake coronavirus vaccines because it could cause sickness similar to illness caused by the virus and results may be fatal.

“The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has not received any application from Covid Vaccine manufacturers yet and therefore no vaccines have been approved by NAFDAC,” it said in a statement.

“There are reports of fake vaccines in Nigeria. NAFDAC is pleading with the public to beware. No Covid Vaccines have been approved by NAFDAC. Fake vaccines can cause Covid-like illnesses or other serious diseases that could kill,” according to NAFDAC, which describes itself as the first National Regulatory Agency in Africa to have Guidance on Regulatory Preparedness for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), Licensing or Access to coronavirus vaccines.

As for exceptional emergency cases, the NAFDAC said it is talks with vaccine manufacturers concerning potential EUA “registration or licensing of their product as the case may be.”

The warning comes as a second wave of the virus has hit Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, causing a spike in the number of victims.

Twenty-three new deaths were confirmed Thursday, alongside 1,479 new infections, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Until Thursday, the NCDC confirmed 1,405 deaths and 105,478 infections. A total of 83,830 patients have been discharged in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Worldwide, COVID-19 has claimed more than 2 million lives in 191 countries and regions since first being detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.

More than 93.6 million patients have been infected.

A separate study conducted in Italy last year suggested that the coronavirus may have been circulating in that country as early as September 2019.