The Nigerian government should abandon its plans to procure vaccines from pharmaceutical companies and focus on administering Ivermectin on Nigerians, Philip Njemanze, a medical doctor and research professor of neuroscience, has said.
Speaking at a virtual conference tagged ‘Information for Healthcare Professionals and the Media on Pfitzer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines’ Friday, Mr Njemanze said the government needs to strategically handle the pandemic by administering drugs that help the body fight against the infection and reduce its viral load.
“We are facing a pandemic and the question is how we go about it,” said Mr Njemanze.
“There are established ways to deal with a pandemic, depending on the situation. In this situation, we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a unique virus because it is constantly mutating.”
Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug believed to also have anti-Covid properties, although it has not been confirmed by relevant health authorities.
As of January 24, Nigeria has recorded 121,566 COVID-19 infections with over 1,504 deaths.
The Nigerian government said it would receive at least 100,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech-approved COVID-19 vaccines by the end of January.
‘Prioritise Ivermectin’
But Mr Njemanze said rather than expend resources on vaccines, the Federal Government should prioritise Ivermectin in tackling the virus.
“This Ivermectin should have been and should be our first line of defence. If you prioritise the vaccine and the virus mutates then, there is a bigger challenge. It does not make any medical sense to put our defence on the vaccine. These are not even vaccines, they are genetic devices, ” he said.
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