Johannesburg - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the equal distribution and access globally of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine which American multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer and German partner BioNTech said was more than 90 percent effective.
“I welcome the news that a coronavirus vaccine has recorded 90 percent effectiveness in clinical trials. This is a major milestone,” Buhari posted on his Twitter account.
“The world must now make great effort to facilitate equitable access and distribution of these vaccines, to protect people in all countries.”
In a statement on Monday, Pfizer and BioNTech said their vaccine had demonstrated evidence of efficacy against Covid-19 in participants without prior evidence of infection.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent Covid-19,” Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer Dr. Albert Bourla said.
“We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.”
According to real time data tracker Worldometer, there are currently more than 51.9 million cases globally of the coronavirus first reported in China last December. Of these, more than 36 million people have recovered, but nearly 1.3 million lives have been lost.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has to date recorded 64 336 Covid-19 cases, the 8th highest national tally on the continent. Out of these, 60 333 people have overcome their infection, but 1 160 have died.
African News Agency (ANA)