Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria reports 251 infections in 14 states, five deaths

Nigeria on Wednesday reported 251 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday. 

WHO calls for equitable distribution of COVID vaccine

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed to rich countries to support equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said there are some countries that are yet to start vaccination owing to a lack of vaccines.

“Countries that continue to roll out boosters now are effectively preventing other countries from vaccinating their most at-risk populations,” he said.

“Three countries – Burundi, Eritrea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – have yet to start vaccinations. About half of the remaining countries are constrained by supply. They have a vaccination programme underway, but don’t have enough supply to accelerate enough to reach the target.”

FG makes COVID-19 vaccination compulsory for civil servants

The federal government has mandated civil servants to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), said workers who fail to get vaccinated will be barred from entering their places of work.

Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, Mustapha said starting from December 1, workers who do not show proof of vaccination and or a negative COVID-19 result will be barred from government offices.

“With effect from 1st December 2021, federal government employees shall be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours, to gain access to their offices, in all locations within Nigeria and our Missions. An appropriate service-wide advisory/circular will be issued to guide the process,” he said.

Study: J&J COVID shot gets better boost from Moderna or Pfizer vaccine

A new study says people who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as a first shot had a stronger immune response when boosted with vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the study included more than 450 adults who received initial shots from Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson and showed that “mixing and matching” booster shots of different types is safe in adults.

The development may be seen as a challenge to J&J effort to get approval for its booster shot.

Nigeria records 251 infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 251 new COVID cases have been reported across the country.

The agency said the infections were reported in 13 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Wednesday.

According to the agency, the FCT recorded the highest number of infections with 78 cases, followed by Lagos with 46 infections.

Other states that recorded new cases are Kaduna (27), Rivers (21), Imo (16), Edo (13), Delta (12), Plateau (10), Niger (7) Bauchi (6), Kwara (6), Akwa Ibom (4), Benue (3) and Nasarawa (2).

A total of 187 recoveries were reported, while five persons died of COVID complications.

So far, the country has confirmed 208,404 infections, 196,123 recoveries and 2,761 fatalities.

COVID: FG removes South Africa, Brazil, Turkey from travel restriction list

The federal government on Wednesday said it has taken South Africa, Brazil and Turkey off the list of countries from which travellers are restricted from entering Nigeria.

The federal government had, in June, added South Africa to the list of countries from which travellers are restricted from entering Nigeria — over the high infection rates recorded in the affected countries.

With the development, only India is left on the list. The government said a revised protocol will be issued on Thursday.