Frontpage News (3249)
Brain drain: UK restricts recruitment of doctors, nurses from Nigeria, 46 others
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The United Kingdom has suspended the recruitment of healthcare workers from Nigeria and 46 other countries. The announcement was contained in the updated Code of Practice released by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
According to the UK government, the increasing scale of health and social care worker migration from low and lower-middle-income countries threatens the achievement of their nation’s health and social care goals.
Denmark, Norway, Iceland suspend use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after blood clot reports
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Denmark, Norway, and Iceland on Thursday temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine over concerns about patients developing post-vaccine blood clots, as the manufacturer and Europe’s medicines watchdog insisted the vaccine was safe.
Denmark was first to announce its suspension, “following reports of serious cases of blood clots” among people who had received the vaccine, the country’s Health Authority said in a statement. It stressed the move was precautionary, and that “it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots”.
AstraZeneca vaccine use can continue, pending blood clot probe -EMA
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European countries can keep using AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine during an investigation into cases of blood clots that prompted Denmark, Norway and Iceland to suspend jabs, the EU’s drug regulator said on Thursday.
There had been 30 cases of ‘thromboembolic events’ among five million people who’ve had the jab so far in Europe, the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement.
Paediatrician warns against use of palm oil as poison antidote
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A Paediatrician, Dr. Ayobola Adebowale, has warned parents against using palm oil as a poison antidote for children. Adebowale, a Senior Registrar, Department of Paediatrics, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos.
She decried the increasing incidents of admission of children in the Intensive Care Units of the hospital after aspirating on palm oil in a bid to induce vomiting after ingesting poisonous substances.
AstraZeneca vaccine is not the most efficacious of all –Tomori
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No fewer than 13 countries in Europe have temporarily suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine following concerns about deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and blood clotting.
A professor of virology, Oyewale Tomori, speaks with DAYO OJERINDE on the suspension of the vaccine in some countries and the growing fears among Nigerians.
The Lagos State Government has released the list of 88 health facilities that have been selected to provide vaccination across the 20 Local Government Areas. The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, In a statement on Tuesday, said vaccination can only be obtained at any of the 88 accredited facilities are listed.
“Vaccination outside of these locations in Lagos State is highly prohibited and will attract heavy sanctions through our regulatory agencies,” he said. The commissioner said the vaccination will be conducted in four phases.
The Association of Resident Doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan on Tuesday commenced a five-day warning strike to protest the non-payment of two months salary arrears. The association says 370 doctors in the hospital have not been paid their salary for two months.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, President of the Resident Doctors in UCH, Dr. Zakariyah Temitope Hussain, said it’s been a tough experience for doctors working without pay. Highlighting some of the demands of the doctors, Hussain said “Some of our doctors have not been paid salaries for January and February 2021.
Immunologist urges AstraZeneca vaccination, says no drug or vaccine is 100% safe
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Professor of immunology, Idris Mohammed, says there is no drug or vaccine that is 100 percent safe. He noted that the Astrazeneca vaccine for COVID-19 is 70 percent safe, and that the opposition to the vaccine is triggered by politics, rather than scientific scrutiny.
Mohammed, who was Gombe task force chairman on coronavirus, stated this on Wednesday during the launch of 71,340 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the state.
OAUTHC Performs Surgery on Boy, 14, With Rare Heart Problem
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The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, has successfully performed surgery on a 14-yearold boy with rare heart problem. The Chief Medical Director of OAUTHC, Prof. Adebayo Adetiloye, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria yesterday.
Adetiloye described the condition of the boy as a very rare one, saying that such an operation had never been carried out, both in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
Concerns over AstraZeneca Vaccine Disrupts Vaccination Campaigns
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The spate of concerns over COVID-19 vaccines and the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, in particular, is fast constituting a threat to vaccination campaign plans globally.
Not less than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, have either suspended or postponed their COVID-19 vaccination campaign plans. The key concerns are the cases of bleeding, blood clots, and low platelet counts among people who received the AstraZeneca shot.
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Expect virulent COVID-19 third wave if safety protocols continue being ignored -Virologist
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Renowned virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, warns that Nigerians should be ready for a third wave of COVID-19 if they don’t change their attitude of disregarding safety protocols. Tomori warned that very few percentage of people had developed antibodies to the coronavirus, noting that the implication is that many people would still get infected.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, Tomori, who is the Chairman, Expert Review Committee on COVID-19, said Nigerians had become very complacent and were undermining the dangerous nature of COVID-19.
AstraZeneca vaccine not expected to cause blood clot -Haematology professor
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Head of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Prof. Sulaimon Akanmu says the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 adverse effect is meant to be hemorrhage, and not blood clot.
He noted that scientifically, based on the composition of the vaccine, what should be expected is bleeding complication. He, however, said blood clot, which is being experienced, is a very dangerous medical condition that can lead to death in the absence of immediate medical intervention.
The National Association of Resident Doctors has asked its members to prepare for an indefinite nationwide strike from March 31, 2021. In a new internal memo dated March 18, 2021, titled, ‘Impending Strike Action,’ made available to PUNCH HealthWise, doctors were asked to prepare mentally, socially, and financially for the industrial action.
The strike, according to the notice, is based on the failure of the government to implement certain agreements. The memo read in part, “Recall that at our last ENEC, it was resolved that a two-week timeline for the government to expedite actions on issues brought to it.
With the many controversies surrounding the administration of the Astrazeneca vaccine to protect citizens from the covid-19 disease, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stressed that the benefits of taking the vaccine far outweigh the risks.
This came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) also declared that Astrazeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine should continue to be administered as the benefits outweigh its risks.
