Nigeria on Tuesday recorded 64 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Wednesday.
Pfizer asks US to authorise COVID booster shots for all adults
Pfizer-BioNTech has asked health regulators in the United States to authorise its COVID-19 booster shots for everyone aged 18 and older.
Currently, older Americans and those more vulnerable to COVID-19 are eligible for a booster dose in the US.
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Pfizer’s request comes amid concerns that COVID-19 infections could rise in the US as the holiday season approaches.
The drugmaker said a trial study showed that a booster could restore protection against symptomatic infection to nearly 96 percent, even against the highly infectious delta variant.
Moderna seeks EU approval of COVID vaccine for kids
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Moderna has applied to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the approval of its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six to 11.
“We are pleased to announce the submission of this variation to the EMA… This marks our first submission for the use of our vaccine in this age group,” Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is currently approved for people aged 12 and above in Europe.
WHO warns of shortage of over one billion COVID-19 vaccine syringes
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of a possible shortfall of up to two billion syringes in 2022.
The United Nations agency said this will hamper vaccine efforts globally if production does not improve.
The COVID-19 vaccine campaigns worldwide resulting in the use of billions of syringes is said to have affected global supplies.
Lisa Hedman, WHO senior adviser on access to medicines and health products, said as the COVID vaccine supplies keep increasing, the production of syringes should increase as well.
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“We are raising the real concern that we could have a shortage of immunisation syringes, which would, in turn, lead to serious problems, such as slowing down immunisation efforts,” she said.
“Depending on how the vaccine uptake goes, it could be a deficit of anywhere from one billion to two billion.”
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US government to buy $1 billion Merck COVID-19 pill
The US has announced plans to buy $1 billion worth of the COVID-19 molnupiravir pill developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, according to the company.
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The government earlier agreed to buy 1.7 million pills and is now planning to buy 1.4 million more.
Data showed when administered in early illness, the drug could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
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“Molnupiravir, if authorised, will be among the vaccines and medicines available to fight COVID-19 as part of our collective efforts to bring this pandemic to an end,” Frank Clyburn, president of Merck’s human health business, said.
Nigeria records 64 infections
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 64 new cases of COVID-19 across the country.
According to the agency’s update for November 9, the new cases were reported in eight states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
Kaduna recorded the highest daily single-count with 23 cases, followed by the FCT with 13 cases and Plateau with eight cases.
Other states are Bauchi (6), Lagos (5), Rivers (4), Bayelsa (2), Jigawa (2), and Kano (1).
The agency said 74 patients were discharged, having recovered from the infection.
The agency said the eight deaths reported on Tuesday were a backlog of death from Edo state.
A total of 212,829 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed with 204,335 recoveries and 2,914 deaths.
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