Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 444 infections in 21 states, seven fatalities

Nigeria on Friday recorded 444 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Saturday. 

Moderna seeks EU approval for COVID-19 vaccine booster shot

Moderna says it has asked the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for conditional approval of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine at a 50 microgram dose.

The biotechnology company’s original vaccine contains 100 micrograms of mRNA in each shot.

Moderna said clinical study data and additional analyses showed that a 50-microgram booster dose of its COVID vaccine induces robust antibody responses and significantly increases “geometric mean titers (GMT) for all variants of concern”.

Commonwealth asks G20 to prioritise poor countries

Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth secretary-general, has asked G20 members to prioritise COVID-19 vaccine for “small states of the world”.

G20 is the international forum that brings together the world’s major economies. Its members account for more than 80% of the world’s GDP.

Scotland made the call at the virtual annual Health20 Summit.

“Only 1.4 per cent of the vaccines administered globally have gone to people in low-income countries,” Scotland said.

“I urge the G20 to start work now on protecting the 42 small states of the world, 32 of which are members of the Commonwealth which I have the honour of representing.

“For just two days’ worth of global vaccines, we could fully vaccinate and protect these smallest and most vulnerable nations among us.”

IFC partners CEPI to boost COVID vaccine production in African countries

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has partnered with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global alliance, to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases in low and middle-income countries.

The organisations said the African continent – home to over 1.2 billion people – imports 99 percent of its vaccines and use 25 percent of the global vaccine supply.

CEPI and IFC will evaluate and identify countries, partners, and projects best positioned to create commercially viable vaccine manufacturing hubs to increase vaccine access in underserved areas.

Nigeria records 444 COVID infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 444 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 20 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The agency confirmed the new cases in its update for September 3, 2021.

The states that recorded positive cases include Edo (71), Akwa Ibom (49), Kwara (49), Oyo (49), Rivers (38), Kaduna (21), Ekiti (20), FCT (19), Kastina (19), and Anambra (17).

Others are Delta (16), Kano (16), Bauchi (14), Ogun (11), Bayelsa (9), Benue (9), Cross River (7), Nasarawa (5), Jigawa (2), Zamfara (2), and Enugu (1).

The NCDC, however, noted that the cases reported include a backlog of cases from Kastina state from September 2 (16), and September 3 (3).

The agency said 385 persons were discharged on Friday after recovering from COVID-19, while 7 persons died from the virus.

To date, 194,088 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, 179,679 discharges have been achieved, and 2,495 deaths have been recorded across the country.

Ondo issues two-week ultimatum to civil servants to take COVID vaccine

The Ondo government has given civil servants in the state two weeks to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

According to a statement issued on Friday, the workers are to ensure that they receive the COVID vaccine if they haven’t.

After the grace period, workers will be expected to present their vaccination cards to access some government facilities.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA