The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has said that the new COVID-19 drug, Dexamethasone is yet to be approved for use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the country.

Scientists in the United Kingdom had hailed the drug, a widely used low-dose steroid, as a major breakthrough after it was found to have considerably reduced the risk of dying from COVID-19.

The NCDC in a series of tweets on its official twitter handle, stated: “The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is aware of recent outcomes from a UK-Government funded clinical trial for COVID-19.

“The results support the use of Dexamethsaone as a possible treatment to reduce the risk of death among COVID-19 patients, who require oxygen or mechanical ventilation.

“Please note that the Government of Nigeria has not validated or approved any treatment for COVID-19. In addition, the use of Dexamethasone for COVID-19 treatment has not been validated by WHO.

“We are aware of ongoing clinical trials conducted by scientists in the UK and will work with our sister agencies to evaluate this emerging data on the use of Dexamethasone. We will inform the general public on outcomes following scientific review and validation.”