China has announced it will donate 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Tuesday.
18 countries suspend rollout of AstraZeneca COVID vaccine
More countries — most of them in Europe — have suspended the use of AstraZeneca COVID vaccine amid reported cases of blood clots in recipients of the vaccine.
As of Monday, 18 countries including France, Germany and Italy have suspended the use of the vaccine.
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Other countries that have suspended the use of the vaccine are Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Indonesia, Netherlands, Ireland, Bulgaria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand, Romania, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Austria and Venezuela.
However, UK medicines regulator, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) —EU medicines regulator, European Medicines Agency (EMA) — and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have all backed the use of the vaccine, saying no causal link has been established between the vaccine and clotting.
Facebook to label all posts about COVID-19 vaccines
Facebook on Monday said it has started adding labels to posts that discussed the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and will soon label all posts about the vaccines.
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The social media giant which has been criticised by health experts and lawmakers for allowing misinformation about vaccines to spread on its platform, said in a blog post that measures were now in place to check claims.
In an interview on Monday, Chris Cox, Facebook chief product officer, said the company takes viral false claims “very seriously” but added that there is “a huge grey area of people who have concerns. Some of which some people would call misinformation and some of which other people would call doubt”.
“The best thing to do in that huge grey area is just to show up with authoritative information in a helpful way, be a part of the conversation and do it with health experts,” he said.
Nigeria records fresh 238 COVID-19 infections — but 353 recoveries
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country recorded 238 new COVID-19 cases across 16 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Monday.
The single-day count recorded on Monday represents a 98 percent leap compared to the 120 cases announced the previous day. But it is still low on the average.
According to the agency, Lagos topped the list with 72 fresh infections, followed by Kwara with 28 cases, and Bauchi with 19.
Other states that also recorded new cases include Kaduna (19), Edo (17), Ogun (15), Nasarawa (13), Rivers (10), FCT (9), Ondo (8), Akwa Ibom (5), Gombe (5), Niger (5), Osun (5), Plateau (4), Oyo (3), and Kano (1).
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The 238 fresh infections bring the total number of confirmed cases to 160,895.
Three persons were said to have died of the infection on Monday, bringing the total number of recorded deaths in the country to 2,016.
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The country also recorded 353 discharges which include 120 community recoveries in Lagos state and 34 community recoveries in FCT.
China to donate 300,000 doses of vaccines to UN peacekeepers
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China says it will donate 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the United Nations(UN) peacekeepers, with a priority given to peacekeeping missions in Africa.
Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the UN, made the announcement in a letter to Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general.
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“The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is the most pressing task facing the world today,” the letter read.
“Vaccines are the most powerful weapon to win the battle. China attaches great importance to the equitable distribution of vaccines, especially the accessibility and affordability in developing countries.
”As of March 15, China has provided vaccine assistance to 69 countries and two international organisations, and exported vaccines to 28 countries. More and more countries and people are benefiting from China’s vaccine.”
8,000 COVID vaccine doses administered across Nigeria
The presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 says 8,000 people have been vaccinated across 35 states, including the federal capital territory (FCT).
Speaking on Monday during a media briefing, Faisal Shuaib, executive secretary of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said only Kogi state is yet to receive the vaccine because its cold chain facility for the preservation of the doses is under repair.
Shuaib also said there is no cause for alarm over the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite its suspension by some European countries.
He said the vaccine has been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
COVID-19 IN NIGERIA
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