Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 24 cases — but zero deaths in seven days

Nigeria on Friday recorded 24 COVID infections. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Saturday.

Brazil approves Pfizer COVID vaccine for minors over 12 years

Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) has authorised the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children over 12 years of age.

The agency said it granted the approval after studies conducted outside Brazil showed safety and efficacy for the age group.

Anvisa said the Pfizer vaccine is currently the only one in use for minors authorized to be used on minors.

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine shows immune response against S’Africa variant

Novavax says its COVID vaccine showed immune response and protection against the highly contagious COVID variant originally identified in South Africa in a clinical trial.

“These data suggest that not only could one booster dose of this variant-directed vaccine potentially provide a robust, protective immune boost after vaccination against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also the potential to provide broad protection against various virus strains if used as a primary vaccine regimen,” Gregory Glenn, president of research and development at Novavax said.

The NVX-CoV2373 vaccine is undergoing multiple trials but has not been approved for use by any country.

Nigeria records 24 COVID cases

Nigeria on Friday recorded 24 new cases of coronavirus in four states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said this in its update for June 11, 2021.

The states that reported new cases are Lagos (12), Gombe (6), FCT (2), Kaduna (2), and Rivers (2).

Meanwhile, 17 people were discharged on Friday after recovering from the virus.

Also, the agency said no new death was recorded on Friday leaving the fatality toll at 2,117.

To date, 167,051 cases have been confirmed, 163,430 cases have been discharged with 1,504 being active cases in 36 states and FCT.

UK to delay COVID lifting COVID lockdown

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will delay lifting COVID lockdown till July 19, according to The Sun.

The news outlet said Johnson will make the announcement on Monday.

In February, Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, laid a roadmap for the reopening of the country — with all restrictions to end on June 21.

But last month, Johnson warned that the country may delay the planned reopening owing to the rise in infections.

Masks no longer mandated on US house of reps

The US house of representatives has lifted its mask requirement for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new guideline is contained in a statement released by the office of the attending physician, Brian Monahan.

“The guideline document reflects that fully vaccinated individuals may discontinue mask wear and 6-foot social distance separations in most situations consistent with the CDC revision regarding fully vaccinated individuals of May 13, 2021,” the statement reads.