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Lockdown looms for Nigeria’s Delta

Lockdown looms for Nigeria’s Delta

THE governor of Rivers State in Nigeria's oil-producing Delta region said he may be forced to reimpose COVID-19 lockdown measures if residents did not comply with prevention protocols amid a rise in cases. Governor Nyesom Wike implored residents to get vaccinated and comply with safety and social distancing rules amid a consistent rise in COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks. "We may be constrained to re-impose the suspended COVID-19 lockdown measures across the state if the transmission of the disease continues to increase beyond tolerable limits," Wike said in an address on Monday. Wike shared a copy of the…
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Tanzania launches vaccination drive

Tanzania launches vaccination drive

TANZANIA’S President Samia Suluhu Hassan received her COVID-19 vaccine in public, in the most decisive signal yet of a break from the policies of her late predecessor who repeatedly dismissed the threat of the pandemic. Hassan took office after the death in March of former President John Magufuli, who had warned citizens against COVID-19 vaccines and recommended at-home remedies such as steam inhalation. Since then, the government has changed tack: officials now call for social distancing and emphasise mask-wearing in public. In June, Tanzania also joined the global COVAX scheme for sharing vaccines with poorer nations, culminating in the delivery…
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Nigeria adds SA to its COVID-19 ‘red list’

Nigeria adds SA to its COVID-19 ‘red list’

NIGERIA is adding South Africa to its "red list" of countries for which there are stringent restrictions for arriving passengers, officials said during a briefing. Nigeria is introducing the restrictions due to the spread of the Delta variant in South Africa, Chikwe Ihekweazu, the head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, said. The country joins India, Brazil and Turkey on the list. "In Nigeria, we haven't found the Delta variant yet," Ihekweazu said during the briefing. Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited the countries on the list within 14 days are barred entry from Nigeria, while passport holders…
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WHO urges rich countries to donate

WHO urges rich countries to donate

THE World Health Organization has urged rich countries to reconsider plans to vaccinate children and instead donate COVID-19 shots to the COVAX scheme for poorer countries. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the second year of the pandemic was set to be more deadly than the first, with India a huge concern. "I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to #COVAX," he told a virtual meeting in Geneva. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the alarm over the rapid spread of…
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France kicks off Europe’s vaccine donations to poorer states

France kicks off Europe’s vaccine donations to poorer states

FRANCE will soon become the first European Union member to send some of its own COVID vaccine supplies to developing countries via the international COVAX scheme, hoping others will join its bid to stave off new variants and compete with Russia and China. The French donation of an initial 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine this month, announced on Wednesday, is a boost for COVAX, which is backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). The COVAX facility aims to secure 2 billion vaccine doses for lower-income countries by the end of…
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Tunisia, Palestinians among 1st COVAX recipients

Tunisia, Palestinians among 1st COVAX recipients

AIDAN LEWIS THE Palestinian territories and Tunisia will benefit from a first wave of coronavirus vaccines from the COVAX scheme, but poorer states in the Middle East face a big gap in early vaccine provision, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Monday. The Palestinian territories are expected to receive 37,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech starting in mid-February through COVAX, while Tunisia is due to receive 93,600 doses, said Rick Brennan, emergency director for the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean region. Two doses of the vaccine are recommended per person. The WHO set up COVAX…
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Poor countries to start vaccinating in February

Poor countries to start vaccinating in February

The World Health Organization has reached an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and should be able to start delivering vaccines to poor and lower-middle-income countries next month under its COVAX programme. The COVAX scheme, led by the WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance, signed deals for hundreds of millions of doses to vaccinate people in poor and lower-middle-income countries, but vaccinations have yet to start. Pfizer's vaccine is so far the only one that has WHO emergency approval. "In this world we are as protected as our neighbour," said Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla, officially…
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WHO close to vaccine deal for the poor

WHO close to vaccine deal for the poor

EMMA FARGE and STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE World Health Organization is in advanced negotiations with Pfizer to include the firm's COVID-19 shot in the body's vaccine-sharing scheme, which would speed vaccine deliveries to poorer countries, according to a senior WHO official. The COVAX scheme -- led by the WHO and GAVI vaccine alliance -- is due to start rolling out vaccines to poor and middle-income countries in February, with 2 of 3 billion doses expected to be delivered this year. "We are in ... detailed discussions with Pfizer. We believe very soon we will have access to that product," WHO senior…
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Nigeria aims for 42 million vaccines

Nigeria aims for 42 million vaccines

FELIX ONUAH NIGERIA hopes to get 42 million COVID-19 vaccines to cover one-fifth of its population through the global COVAX scheme, said Faisal Shuaib, head of the country's primary healthcare agency. Shuaib said the batch of vaccines would come as part of Nigeria's plan to inoculate 40% of the population this year, with another 30% in 2022. By the end of January, 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are expected to arrive, he said. The COVAX scheme was set up to provide vaccines to poorer countries such as Nigeria, whose 200 million people and poor infrastructure pose a daunting challenge…
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WHO hopes to have 500 mln vaccine doses via COVAX scheme in Q1 2021 -chief scientist

WHO hopes to have 500 mln vaccine doses via COVAX scheme in Q1 2021 -chief scientist

THE World Health Organization hopes to have half a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines available for distribution by the global COVAX initiative in the first quarter of 2021, its chief scientist has said. To date 189 countries have joined the COVAX programme, which is backed by the WHO and seeks to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. The United States is not among them, having secured bilateral deals. The initial COVAX plan is to vaccinate the 20% of populations at highest risk, including health workers and people aged over 65. "The goal is to get at least 2 billion doses by…
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