Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC reports 33 infections – but no fatality

Nigeria on Tuesday recorded 33 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Wednesday. 

Vaccination during pregnancy protects infants from being hospitalised for COVID, says study

Infants whose mothers received two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy are less likely to be admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 in the first six months of life, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Overall, maternal vaccination was 61 percent effective at preventing infant hospitalisation, the researchers found.

The study suggests that vaccination later in pregnancy — after the first 20 weeks — appeared to provide better protection for infants than earlier vaccination, the study suggests.

UK advisers warn against lifting remaining COVID restrictions

UK government’s scientific advisers have warned that lifting of remaining COVID restrictions in the UK will “disproportionately impact” vulnerable sections of the population.

In a report, members of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (SAGE) behavioral science subgroup, SPI-B, said: “In the event of remaining restrictions being lifted, policy makers and communicators should seek to mitigate potential economic and social harms to those identifying as clinically vulnerable and those from deprived socioeconomic and minority groups.

“If the legal requirement to self-isolate upon testing positive is lifted and becomes an item of public health guidance, it is likely to lead to further ambiguity among the public about the need for strict adherence.”

Long COVID less common in fully-vaccinated people, says UK health agency

The UK health security agency (UKHSA) says long COVID is less likely to affect vaccinated people.

“These studies add to the potential benefits of receiving a full course of the Covid-19 vaccination,” Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at UKHSA, said.

“Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from serious symptoms when you get infected and may also help to reduce the longer-term impact.”

Nigeria logs 33 COVID cases 

Nigeria has recorded 33 new cases of COVID-19.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in its update for February 15, said the infections were logged in four states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

Below is a list of the new cases:

Lagos-13

Kaduna-9

Delta-5

FCT-5

Rivers-1

The NCDC said 15 persons were discharged after recovering from the infection. There were no fatalities on Tuesday.

The agency said the report includes three recoveries reported from the FCT for February 14, including two community discharges

Nigeria now has a total of 254,124 cases, 230,472 recoveries and 3,141 deaths logged in the 36 states and the FCT.

Japan records highest COVID deaths since start of pandemic

Japan reported 236 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, the highest daily deaths since the pandemic began and bringing the country’s cumulative death toll to 20,759.

Japan has reportedly seen more than 100 daily deaths since early this year, mostly among the elderly population. The total number of cases in Japan has surpassed four million.

“The growth in the number of severely ill patients is likely to continue for a while,” Shigeru Omi, chairperson of the government’s coronavirus subcommittee, said on Monday.