Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has granted approval for the emergency use of AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccines in the West African nation.

The recommendation was based on rigorous scientific considerations, NAFDAC said in a statement on Thursday. The review of the shot’s efficacy was done after receiving the “vaccine dossier” from Serum Institute of India on Feb. 10. “COVISHIELD was found safe and well-tolerated in adults above 18 years of age,” the agency said.

Last week, Africa’s viral epicentre, South Africa, jettisoned the use of the vaccine after tests showed the shot offered less protection against mild infection caused by the new strain that was first identified in the country and has since spread across southern Africa and elsewhere.

Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, has recorded 149,000 coronavirus cases with 1,787 deaths.