The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC) has approved a vaccine for use in the treatment and prevention of coronavirus in Nigeria. The Oxford / AstraZeneca COVID - 19 vaccine has now been approved for use in Nigeria. The Director - General of NAFDAC, Dr. Mojisola Adeyeye made the announcement during a live briefing on Thursday . NAFDAC DG , Dr. Mojisola Adeyeye briefs journalists on the use of AstraZeneca Vaccine in Nigeria She said that the vaccine can be stored at 2 to 8 - degree centigrade . According to the DG , there are three additional vaccines undergoing evaluation , but the evaluation on Astrazeneca shows that the vaccine is effective against the UK variant of the virus which has been reported in Nigeria . See : See How A Woman Replied A Man Who Asked Her For Nudes Dr Adeyeye disclosed that the South African variant has not been reported in Nigeria , adding that the agency has over 30 herbal medicine undergoing review for listing . The vaccine was recently approved by the W . H . O for emergency use, in a press briefing , NAFDAC says it got the dossier of the vaccine a week ago , and the NAFDAC safety committee went to work immediately to evaluate its safety and efficacy for Nigerians . The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, also known as ChAdOx 1 nCoV- 19 , or AZD 1222, is a viral vector vaccine. Scientists used an adenovirus , originally derived from chimpanzees , and modified it with the aim of training the immune system to mount a strong response against SARS - CoV - 2 ( the virus that causes COVID - 19 ) .