Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria logs 337 cases in 16 states — and 262 recoveries

Nigeria on Friday recorded 337 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Saturday. 

US to donate millions of Pfizer COVID vaccine doses to the world

The United States plans to buy hundreds of millions of additional doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to donate to countries in need, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper quoted an anonymous source as saying that the Joe Biden administration is expected to purchase about 500 million doses of the vaccine.

The purchase will be announced next week to coincide with the United Nations general assembly meeting in New York.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has frequently expressed concerns over low vaccination rates in poor countries.

FDA advisers recommend COVID boosters for people aged 65

An expert panel of advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration has voted to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans aged 65 and older as well as those at high risk of severe illness.

The panel rejected the call for broader approval.

Meanwhile, those eligible must have received their second dose at least six months ago.

Cuba vaccinates children against COVID-19

Cuba has reportedly started vaccination for children between the ages of two and 10.

The North American country is reportedly the first nation in the world to embark on the campaign — and with its homegrown vaccines.

“Our country would not put [infants] even at a minimal risk if the vaccines were not proven safe and highly effective when put into children,” Aurolis Otano, director of the Vedado Polyclinic University, was quoted as saying.

Nigeria records 337 cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 337 new cases of COVID-19.

The agency, in its update for September 17, 2021, said the new infections were recorded in 15 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

According to the NCDC, Lagos reported the highest number of infections with 142 cases, followed by Rivers with 32 and Edo with 30.

Other states that recorded new cases are Delta (25), Kwara (23), Kaduna (16), Oyo (16), Plateau (12), FCT (11), Akwa Ibom (10), Kano (10), Ogun (3), Ekiti (2), Gombe (2), Imo (2), and Nasarawa (1).

The NCDC data indicate that two persons died from COVID-19 complications on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,649.

Also, 262 patients recovered from the virus on Friday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Nigeria has reported 201,294 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 189,608 recoveries.

COVID vaccine bookings jump in Italy after government made it mandatory

The coronavirus mandate is yielding the desired result in Italy.

Bookings for COVID-19 vaccinations have increased after the government made it compulsory for all workers.

The number of people making appointments is said to have doubled compared to the day before the policy was implemented.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA