Frontpage News (3249)
The National Association of Resident Doctors warns that COVID-19 global pandemic is not under control yet in the country, urging continued maintenance of personal protection from the infectious disease. The NARD said that though the situation is better than last December and early January, “it is not yet uhuru.”
The association also disclosed that 725 physicians have so far been infected with COVID-19 while managing patients in several treatment facilities across the country. It added that about 2,573 of its members have been exposed to the virus.
New COVID-19 variant B125 discovered in Nigeria, 15 other countries
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says that a new variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Nigeria and 15 other countries. The new strain, B.1.2.5, which is different from the highly infectious B.1.1.7 has, however, not been described as a variant of concern yet.
Disclosing this at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja, NCDC Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said that researchers and scientists were still working hard to understand if the variant had any effect on the virus’ transmissibility, immunity, as well as diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.
Lagos introduces new platform for verification of COVID-19 test results
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The Lagos State Government has deployed a verification platform to validate the authenticity of COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction tests done within the Private Laboratory Consortium and all State Public laboratories for outbound flights.
In a statement made available to PUNCH HealthWise and signed by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, the government said the platform can be accessed through an App and the use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data-codes.
The probability that Africa will achieve HIV testing and condom use targets by 2030 is only 12.1 per cent and 28.5 percent respectively, making the need for more testing and treatment a priority, a modelling study suggests.
The study, published online by HIVr4p, notes that there has been limited progress on Treatment-as-Prevention [TasP] in Africa and little prospect of reaching global targets for HIV/AIDS elimination.
Nigeria Can’t Produce COVID-19 Vaccines without Pharmacy Law, Says PSN
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The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has raised concern that Nigeria may not be able to produce COVID-19 vaccines and others unless the National Assembly and President Muhammadu Buhari sign the Pharmacy Bill into law.
Speaking at a media briefing on roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine, yesterday, in Lagos, the PSN insisted that the vaccines were safe and should be accepted in Nigeria, even as the group urged caution on the use of Ivermectin for treatment of the pandemic.
Woman contracts COVID-19 from donor lungs, dies during surgery
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A woman died of COVID-19-related causes after undergoing a double lung transplant with organ suspected to have been infected with coronavirus. The woman, who underwent the double lung transplant, had a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and had tested negative for the coronavirus 12 hours before surgery.
The organ donor, a woman from the Upper Midwest who had suffered brain death following an auto accident, also had a negative PCR test using a nasopharyngeal swab within 48 hours of when her organs were procured.
People Who Suffer Side Effects from COVAX Vaccine to Be Compensated – WHO
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The World Health Organisation has agreed to a no-fault compensation plan for claims of serious side effects in people in 92 poorer countries that are yet to get COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX sharing scheme, resolving a big concern among recipient governments.
This is revealed in a statement posted on the WHO website. According to the statement, the new programme makes compensation available to eligible individuals in 92 low- and middle-income countries without need to resort to law courts, NAN reports.
An apple a day may boost brain function, prevent Alzheimer’s disease –Dietician
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Phytonutrients in apple help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a study suggests. The study notes that the benefits for the brain were observed from apple peel and flesh, but not from juice, indicating that apples should be consumed whole in order to derive the benefits.
Scientists say that the pro-neurogenic compounds in both an apple’s peel and flesh help in improving brain function and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease; and that the quercetin and hydroxybenzoic, which are phytonutrients in apple, help boost brain function and reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Warning signs of COVID-19 in kids, shared by parents who lost six-year-old girl to virus
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Parents of a six-year-old girl who died of COVID-19 have shared what they describe as ‘telltale symptoms’ of the virus in children. According to the Centres for Disease Control, while fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, can get sick from COVID-19, and can spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others.
“Children, like adults, who have COVID-19 but have no symptoms (asymptomatic) can still spread the virus to others,” CDC says. The centre notes that most children with COVID-19 have mild symptoms or have no symptoms at all. However, some children can get severely ill from COVID-19.
COVID-19 Vaccines: NPHCDA Conducts Nationwide Preparatory Training Of Healthcare Workers
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Preparatory to the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines into the country in a few days, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has rolled out a nationwide training programme for health care workers that will be involved in the COVID-19 vaccination at the national and state levels.
The Executive Director/CEO, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib has enjoined Nigerians, particularly health care workers nationwide to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the Federal Government to protect themselves and curb the spread of COVID-19.
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Woman contracts Hepatitis B during nose piercing, undergoes liver transplant
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A 37-year-old woman who underwent a nose piercing has developed what doctors later diagnosed as Hepatitis B after the process.
The woman, Dana Smith, a New York resident, said she had the procedure for $60 and that not long after, her health took a drastic turn for the worst as the nose piercing infection led to a life-threatening condition, causing her to need a liver transplant.
NPHCDA invites Nigerians to register for COVID-19 vaccination
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The National Primary Health Care Development Agency has released guidelines on registering for COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria. Recall that the agency on Sunday said that Nigeria would take delivery of 3.92 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, March 2.
According to the NPHCDA, the delivery would mark the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country and make Nigeria the next West African country to benefit from the COVAX Facility after Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
Nigeria has received the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency says. So far, Nigeria is the third country in West Africa to receive the vaccines, coming after Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
The country took delivery of the 3.92 million doses of vaccines on Tuesday [today] morning via the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. In a tweet posted by the agency on its Twitter handle @Nphcda on Tuesday, it said “I AM HERE, NIGERIA!!! #YesToCOVID19Vaccine.”
Hydroxychloroquine has no meaningful effect on COVID-19 -WHO
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The World Health Organisation Guideline Development Group panel of international experts warns strongly against the use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19.
Their strong recommendation against the anti-inflammatory drug is based on high certainty evidence from six randomised controlled trials involving over 6,000 participants with and without known exposure to a person with COVID-19 infection, published in the journal, The British Medical Association.
