The drug for the treatment of the dreaded coronavirus will be ready as soon as the testing of the vaccine is completed, the Chairman of the Imo State Taskforce on COVID-19, Prof. Maurice Iwu said on Thursday.

He gave the assurance in Owerri, where he presented a plant-based patented treatment for COVID-19 which is presently being tested in the United States to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.

The professor of Pharmacognosy from the University of Nigeria Nsukka’s (UNN), the presentation had followed on the heels of Seplat Petroleum and Waltersmith Oil Limited’s donation of COVID-19 preventive material to the state government. Prof. Iwu disclosed that there is a positive sign that it would soon be ready.

“The work on the drug we are developing is still going on. We are encouraged by the result we are getting. We are getting very positive signs.”

He added,

“Luckily the drug is a safe one. It is drug already in use. We are repurposing it for this particular purpose. So when we finished the studying and testing we are doing, I think the drug will come up in line very soon. ”

Most importantly, he added

“If the pandemic escalates, the NAFDAC will know what to do, like they did in USA to fast track the use of chloroquine.