Daily COVID Tracker: Drug reduces risk of death and Nigerian centenarian beats virus

February 12, 2021 9:15 am

A Nigerian centenarian from Osun state has survived COVID-19, a development that is considered a rarity. Here are five updates on the pandemic this Friday.

South Africa to use J&J, Pfizer COVID vaccines

South Africa has secured new COVID-19 vaccines after the Oxford-AstraZeneca offered “minimal protection” against the strain of the virus in the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa says the country has secured millions of doses of the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to fight the highly infectious dominant variant of COVID-19 in the country.

Speaking on Thursday, Ramaphosa said nine million doses of the yet-to-be approved J&J vaccine and 20 million Pfizer doses have been secured, adding that deliveries are expected to begin at the end of March.

Drug reduces risk of death for COVID-19 patients

Tocilizumab, an intravenous anti-inflammatory drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, has been found to reduce the risk of death for patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19.

According to a study released on Thursday, the drug is also said to reduce the length of stay in the hospital.

The preliminary results came from the Recovery trial at the University of Oxford, which has been studying various potential treatments for COVID-19 since March 2020.

Peter Horby, joint chief investigator for the Recovery trial, said previous trials of tocilizumab had shown “mixed results, and it was unclear which patients might benefit from the treatment.”

“We now know that the benefits of tocilizumab extend to all COVID patients with low oxygen levels and significant inflammation. The double impact of dexamethasone plus tocilizumab is impressive and very welcome,” Horby added.

No crowds at the Australian Open

Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, will undergo a five-day lockdown to prevent a cluster of 13 UK variant of COVID-19 cases from spreading further.

A fresh COVID-19 cluster linked to a quarantined hotel in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, reached 13 cases as of Thursday midnight and authorities have imposed a lockdown to limit the spread.

101-year-old Nigerian woman survives COVID-19

Victor Adetiloye, chief medical director of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), said on Thursday that a woman, aged 101, survived COVID-19 after receiving treatment.

Adetiloye said the woman was taken to a private hospital in Ile-Ife after she developed cough, fever and breathlessness but had to be referred to OAUTH when she tested positive for COVID-19.

The doctor said the woman was discharged after 12 days of admission and that she has tested negative for the virus.