Janet Ogundepo
As the Federal Government maintained that the newly detected XEC COVID-19 variant is not in Nigeria, a renowned virologist and Chairman of the Expert Review Committee on COVID-19, Prof Oyewale Tomori, has said the country is not ready to handle another pandemic.
The virologist stated that the government’s approach to handling the XEC variant and the few functioning COVID-19 laboratories showed a lack of readiness to tackle any disease outbreak that cuts across international boundaries.
Tomori, a member of the World Health Organisation’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 vaccine composition, stated this on the sidelines of the 10th Annual International Bioethics Forum held at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos.
The don further emphasised that out of the over 100 laboratories built during the pandemic, 60 labs were no longer functioning.
He noted that the non-functioning labs reflected an ethical problem that should be challenged.
The former Vice Chancellor of the Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, said, “The government should give us, first of all, how many of the labs of COVID vaccine labs are functioning now? Go and check the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control website, you’ll find they have a page, maybe they stopped it now. They have a page where they list over 60 laboratories that are not functioning anymore. So, we are back to square one.
“For us to now have six years of labs not functioning, after all the money we spent on those labs, something is wrong somewhere. And we must continue to challenge it anywhere we go.”
PUNCH Healthwise reports that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the XEC variant was designated as a Variant Under Monitoring and was yet to meet the criteria for designation as a Variant of Interest.
XEC is the latest in the long list of past and current COVID variants being monitored as the COVID-19 virus mutates.
Last week, the FG and the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, also stressed that there was no evidence of the strain in the country.
Responding to the FG’s stance on the variant, the virologist asserted that for people to be convinced about the absence of the XEC variant in the country, the NCDC should announce the number of samples tested and then make conclusions.
“We say we are prepared, but I don’t think we are ready. They are two different things. You can prepare for something, but when things happen, you will know whether you are ready.
“When the Ministry of Health said that we shouldn’t have any fear or something, the question I asked, if you want to convince me, is for NCDC to tell me I’ve tested 600 samples and none was positive. That’s the assurance we want. It’s not a statement from the State House to say we don’t have it. It is NCDC who is in charge of this and they should be the ones to tell us. If it was said by the minister, he should have said the NCDC said we tested X number and no cases,” Tomori said.
The don further expressed dissatisfaction over the handling of the health information collection at the nation’s borders.
“I’ve been through our borders a few or three times and the way they are handling, even the filling of the forms, I am ashamed of this country. They tell you to snap the form, go and fill it out at home, and bring it back. We don’t do things like that,” the don said.
Tomori questioned the NCDC, “All these forms we are filling, do you give feedback to the society? NCDC is the one to tell us we don’t have COVID in this country.”
He advised individuals, particularly the elderly and persons with co-morbidities, to take safety health measures such as wearing a face mask.
Speaking further about the bioethics conference, Tomori stated that ethics was important in political leadership, research and in every sphere of life.
He described ethics as the foundation of whatever was done, urging Nigerians to imbibe ethical behaviours in everything they do.
In his welcome address the Director General of NIMR, Prof John Obafunwa, stated that the conference was a testament to the institution’s commitment to addressing the ethical issues and challenges that pervaded research and practice in Nigeria.
“We are proud to be part of this significant initiative, which is jointly organised by the Bioethics Society of Nigeria, the National Health Research Ethics Committee, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, and the New HIV Vaccine and Microbes Advocacy Society,” the don said.
NIMR’s DG further appealed to the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, who was present at the conference, to prioritise research and research funding.
“The advancement of ethical research practices is critical for the development of our healthcare systems and the well-being of our communities. Together, we can ensure that our research endeavours are not only innovative but also ethically sound and socially responsible,” Obafunwa said.
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