TETFund-sponsored COVID-19 vaccine to be ready November – Official
NEWS DIGEST – The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, says its COVID-19 vaccine project would be ready for its first clinical trial in November this year.
The TETFund’s Ag. Director, Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the project, which is a mega research grand intervention tagged ‘Accelerated Development of COVID-19 Vaccines Using Innovative Technological Approach’, is a collaborative effort involving cluster researchers from five different institutions in the country.
The statement recalled that TETFund had awarded a total of N1,250,000,000.00 (distributed to four clusters of researchers.
One of the clusters, which is the Vaccine Production Cluster, got a total grant of N450 Million.
According to the statement, the Vaccine Production Cluster is made up of researchers from the National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research Lagos and National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, Zaria.
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Vice Chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, who led the team of researchers to brief the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono on the progress so far, explained that they were able to make the breakthrough through the maximum support of the Fund.
He recalled how the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged and unleashed untold hardship on humanity globally, noting that Nigeria was only saved by divine intervention since the nation was not prepared for such eventuality.
He said: “TETFund believed in us and supported us to get to where we are now. That is why we have come to give a firsthand report on the progress made so far”.
“We graciously got the support of TETFund not only in COVID-19 but also in Lassa Fever and other infectious diseases, because whether we like it or not, diseases will continue to emerge and reemerge. They don’t have international boundaries and that is why they are called pandemic”
“That was when we realized that we really need to sit up. Those producing these vaccines abroad are mostly Nigerians after all, so why can’t we do it here. That is why we decided to form a consortium and TETFund was magnanimous to release N225 million for the first tranche,” he added.
Responding, Mr Echono lauded the team for the great feat achieved within a time limit to make the country proud with the progress recorded in the vaccine production.
He explained that it is a national project, and as such, it has become a national pride, assuring that TETFund would continue to assist the cross-cutting efforts of the researchers to ensure the desired goal is achieved.
