Albert Bourla, chief executive officer (CEO) of Pfizer, says people will likely need a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines within 12 months. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday.
Nigeria records 80 COVID infections — but zero deaths in four days
Eighty cases of COVID-19 were reported in 11 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Thursday.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed this in its update for April 15.
Lagos topped the list with 29 infections, followed by Rivers with 19, and Zamfara with 6.
Other states that reported infections on Thursday include Akwa Ibom (4), Edo (4), Osun (4), Plateau (4), Ogun (3), Kano (3), Nasarawa (2), FCT (1), and Oyo (1).
No fatality was recorded on Thursday — the fourth time this week.
With Thursday’s figure, Nigeria has 164,080 COVID-19 infections since its index case on February 27, 2020. But 154,285 patients have recovered from the infection, while 2,061 deaths have been recorded.
Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled over COVID surge
A top-ranking member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party says the Tokyo Olympics could be cancelled if the COVID-19 situation worsens.
Toshihiro Nikai, LDP senior official, on Thursday said the Olympics must be cancelled “without hesitation” if the virus situation is too severe.
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“If it becomes impossible, then it should be called off,” Nikai said, adding that “what is the point of the Olympics if it’s responsible for spreading infections? We will have to make a decision at that point”.
The Tokyo Olympics was postponed in 2020 over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Third COVID-19 vaccine dose likely needed within 12 months
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Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, says people will likely need a third booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC on April 1, but made public on Thursday, Bourla said it is possible that people will need to be vaccinated against COVID-1 annually.
“A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role,” he said.
Bourla added that “it is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus”.
Scientists find higher risk of brain clots from COVID-19 compared with vaccines
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Researchers from Oxford University on Thursday said there is a higher risk of brain blood clots from COVID-19 infection than there is from vaccines against the disease.
There have been reported cases of blood clots in patients who received the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, prompting some countries to suspend vaccination.
The researchers said in a pre-print study that the risk of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was eight-10 times higher following COVID-19 infection than it was from existing vaccines for the disease.
“The risk of having a (CVST) after COVID-19 appears to be substantially and significantly higher than it is after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine,” the researchers said.
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Denmark removes AstraZeneca shot from its vaccination programme
Denmark has reportedly excluded the AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab from its vaccination exercise.
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The country said the vaccine is not needed because the country has reached “such an advanced point” in its vaccination rollout.
“We are basically in agreement with EMA’s assessment regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. That is why it is important to emphasise that it is still an approved vaccine [in Europe], Søren Brostrøm, director-general of Danish Health Authority, (DHA) was quoted to have said.
He added that “and I understand if other countries in a different situation than us choose to continue using the vaccine”.
COVID-19 IN NIGERIA
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