Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria reports 559 infections in 15 states, five deaths

Nigeria on Wednesday recorded 559 coronavirus infections. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday. 

Nigeria receives 1.1m doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine

The federal government has received additional 1,123,200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Faisal Shuaib, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCD), said the latest shipments were received as part of the 39,800,000 doses procured by the federal government.

Shuaib said the single-shot J&J vaccine was received last Saturday through the African Vaccine Acquisition Team (AVAT) of the African Union, a facility provided by AFREXIMBANK.

“The NAFDAC team has already taken samples for analysis and are currently scanning the codes to ensure proper serialization of the vaccine,” Shuaib said.

WHO seeks COVID vaccines for poor nations not ”excuses”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked manufacturers of COVID vaccines and rich countries to deliver pledged doses to poor countries and stop making “excuses”.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said this during a media briefing on Wednesday.

“We have heard excuses from manufacturers and some high-income countries about how low-income countries cannot absorb vaccines,” Tedros said.

“Because manufacturers have prioritised or been legally obliged to fulfil bilateral deals with rich countries willing to pay top dollar, low-income countries have been deprived of the tools to protect their people.”

PAHO asks countries to prioritise COVID vaccine for pregnant women

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has asked countries in the Americas to prioritise pregnant and breastfeeding women in the distribution of COVID-19 doses.

“PAHO recommends that all pregnant women after their first trimester, as well as those who are breastfeeding, receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” Carissa Etienne, PAHO director, said on Wednesday.

“In Mexico, where pregnant women have been prioritized for vaccinations for some time, not a single vaccinated woman has died from COVID during pregnancy.”

Nigeria records 559 COVID infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 559 COVID-19 infections across 14 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Wednesday.

Lagos, the worst-hit state, recorded 232 positive samples, representing 41.5 percent of the total cases recorded on Wednesday.

Other states that reported fresh infections include Rivers (83), Enugu (66), Oyo (28), Kaduna (25), FCT (24), Delta (22), Akwa Ibom (19), Kwara (18), Ekiti (13), Bayelsa (9), Cross River (9), Ogun (6), Kano (3) and Gombe (2).

The NCDC said 220 patients were discharged, while five persons died of COVID complications.

The agency said Wednesday’s report includes two deaths and six recoveries in Lagos for September 7, 2021.

Currently, Nigeria has 197,046 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 185,379 recoveries and 2,578 fatalities.

US FDA declines emergency approval of lenzilumab COVID-19 drug

The US Food and Drug Administration has declined the request for an emergency authorisation of lenzilumab drug to treat hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Humanigen, the maker of lenzilumab drug, disclosed in a statement on Thursday.

“In its letter, FDA stated that it was unable to conclude that the known and potential benefits of lenzilumab outweigh the known and potential risks of its use as a treatment for COVID-19,” the statement reads.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA