By SHARON O. ISAALAH
- Why Nigeria scrapped post-arrival Covid test for fully vaccinated travellers
Nigeria’s National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said contrary to a report that 70 per cent of medicine in circulation in the country is fake, only about 15 per cent has been confirmed to be substandard.
Speaking at the official inauguration of 73 vehicles acquired by the agency to help in its enforcement operations, its Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said as part of the consideration for certification of the Maturity Level 3 by the World Health Organization (WHO), NAFDAC had developed the capacity to detect fake drugs.
She said: “There was a rumour that about 70percent of medicine in circulation within the country are fake. That is not true. It is about 13 per cent or 15 per cent because we do what is called risk-based sampling for products that we know can be easily faked, The Trumpet gathered.
“It is part of consideration for our maturity Level 3. It is part of the capacity that earned us the Maturity Level 3. “We have mechanisms in place to go after any product that could be easily faked and then resolve it and know how much of it is there. “But we are going to be mitigating it.
As we speak, our staff are uploading some tools on their laptops and we are going to using a device that cost about $57,000 each and we need 40 of them.” Adeyeye also spoke on the progress of expansion work at the agency’s vaccine laboratory at Oshodi in Lagos state, saying that it will be ready within the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, post-arrival PCR COVID tests for fully vaccinated travellers entering Nigeria has been scrapped by the Federal Government. This was contained in a revised travel protocol the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19. The committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said fully vaccinated passengers are required to show evidence of “verifiable” vaccination certificate and permit to travel certificate.
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Mustapha said passengers who are not able to show evidence of full vaccination would be treated as unvaccinated or partially vaccinated under the new protocol. He said the new measures “will be effective from April 4. In-bound passengers to Nigeria who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer required to carry out COVID-19 PCR test before boarding Nigeriabound flights.”
“Fully vaccinated passengers arriving Nigeria will not also be required to carry out post-arrival PCR test or a rapid antigen test upon arriving Nigeria. “Children below the age of 18 years will be accorded the same privileges as persons who are fully vaccinated; “In-bound passengers who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated for COVID-19 shall take a COVID-19 PCR test 48 hours before departure and undergo days 2 and 7 postarrival PCR tests at their own cost.
“Travellers who are fully vaccinated are not required to observe the mandatory seven-day quarantine nor undertake the day two and day seven post-arrival PCR tests.”
The PSC advised passengers travelling out of Nigeria to have evidence of full vaccination; comply with the COVID-19 guidelines and testing requirements of their destination or transit countries before embarking on the journey. “Passengers who do not have evidence of full vaccination must perform a COVID-19 PCR test not more than two days (48 hours) before boarding,” it said.
“Travellers must bring along an electronic or hard copy of their negative COVID-19 PCR test for presentation at the departure airport and upon arrival in Nigeria. “On arrival in Nigeria, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers are to show up at the laboratory/ sample collection centres chosen by them while filling the NITP on the 2nd and 7th day of arrival. “Samples will be taken, and a COVID-19 PCR test done.
The selected private laboratory will send a reminder text message, email, or phone call to the traveller a day before the appointment date. “Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated persons who test negative for COVID-19 after seven days of selfi s o l a t i o n / q u a r a n t i n e will be allowed to exit self-isolation on receipt of their result, but if tested positive, will be treated according to measures instituted by the government.”
