Nigerian scientists discover COVID-19 vaccine: Report

Amid a global race to find COVID-19 vaccine, a team of Nigerian scientists recently announced the discovery of a novel coronavirus vaccine that may help prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, according to a report by The Guardian Nigeria.

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The discovery of the vaccine for COVID-19, which has so far killed at least 465,300 people globally, was announced on Friday by Nigerian Universities’ Scientists.

Dr Oladipo Kolawole, a specialist in Medical Virology, Immunology and Bioinformatics, at Adeleke University, Ede in Osun, and leader of the research team, said during a news conference that the vaccine was being developed locally in Africa for Africans. According to Kolawole, the unnamed vaccine, when unveiled, would also work for other races.

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. He added that after trying out some selected processes of vaccine development, the researchers were able to choose the best potential vaccine candidates for the SARS-CoV-2.

The unveiling of the unnamed vaccine would take a minimum of 18 months, Kolawole said, as a lot of analysis and studies, as well as approvals by medical authorities, were still required.