… Receives reports on innovations in testing and vaccination
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and other government officials have met with Virology experts on how to review and suggest further steps to be taken to mitigate the effect of coronavirus on Nigerians and stem the spread.
A statement signed by Osinbajo’s aide, Babafemi Ojudu, disclosed that the leader of the team, Prof. Oyewale Tomori came out of his retirement as a virology expert to collaborate with Prof. Christian Happi of the Redeemer University, a world renowned researcher on Infectious diseases.
He added that their collaboration has yielded significant results that are being recognised by colleagues across the world.
”One of the landmark achievement they have recorded is the development of a procedure that enables results of tests to be out in five minutes. This requires no equipment,” the Presidential aide said, quoting Prof. Happi.
Quoting the experts, he explained that all that was needed for the test was the saliva of a subject which is collected in a test tube.
He continued, ”The other giant leap made by their team is a formula for a home grown vaccine. All they require now is the fund to carry out tests as required.”
Ojudu disclosed that Vice President Osinbajo promised to brief the President on their efforts and thanked them profusely for their patriotism.
The statement added that while concluding his presentation, Prof Tomori became emotional and ”broke down sobbing”.
He said the Professor said Nigeria gave him a lot of opportunities by educating him but unfortunately, ”the situation over the years never allowed him and his generation” to give their best to the country.
“I am ever appreciative of what this country has done for me…..I will never ever be able to pay back what I owe this country…..It is this that gives me the ferocious passion that this country can do much better for the current generation, which is more smarter than my generation”, Tomori was quoted to have said.
He thanked Prof Osinbajo for giving him and his team the rare opportunity to present their work and urge him to “create the environment for this generation and see Nigeria move to world class level”.
On vaccine, Prof Tomori said he was “ looking into the future… now is the time to prepare for the future. At the end of the pandemic, Nigeria’s vaccine production facility should be roaring to go… Nigeria must not let Covid go without having our vaccine facility operational.”