Covid-19: Nigeria scientists finally develop vaccine–but …

The COVID-19 Research Group, a team of university scientists in Nigeria, has announced the discovery of a vaccine for the prevention of the viral infection.

The team leader, Dr Oladipo Kolawole , said the vaccine will be meant for Africans in Africa. The vaccine would also work for other continents when unveiled.

Kolawole is a specialist in medical virology, immunology and Bioinformatics, at Adeleke University, Ede,

The study, which led to the discovery of the vaccine, was sponsored by the Trinity Immunodeficient Laboratory and Helix Biogen Consult, Ogbomosho, to the tune of about N7.8 million.

Kolawole said the group had been working extensively by exploring the SARS-CoV-2 genome from African countries to select the best possible potential vaccine candidates.

According to him, after trying out some selected processes of vaccine development, the researchers had been able to choose the best potential vaccine candidates for the SARS-CoV-2 and had made the possible latent vaccine constructs.

But the production of the vaccine won’t happen soon. Kolawole said that it would take a minimum of 18 months because a lot of analysis and studies, as well as approvals by medical authorities, were still required.

Ag VC of the varsity, Prof. Solomon Adebola,  said the university will  assist in the funding of the research .

“We are glad that a vaccine that will provide a solution to a global problem like Coronavirus pandemic is coming from the garden.

“It is our passion to be a solution provider to such a global pandemic, and we are ready to throw our weights behind the team and make the vaccine a reality,” Adebola said.