TheCable

Nigeria on Monday recorded 565 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Tuesday. 

Sanwo-Olu: 135 deaths recorded in Lagos amid COVID third wave

The Lagos government says 135 deaths have been recorded in the state amid the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, disclosed this on Monday during a media briefing on the COVID situation in the state.

Sanwo-Olu said since the start of the pandemic, 5,551 positive cases have been admitted at COVID isolation centres in Lagos.

“We are now clearly in the middle of third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and Lagos has remained the epicentre of the disease in Nigeria,” he said.

The governor said the state has seen a surge in severe cases, adding that the number of oxygen cylinders used rose from 75 per day to 400 within the third wave.

CSO makes case for minimum standard in COVID vaccination

Connected Development (CODE), a not-for-profit organisation, has asked the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to ensure that all its facilities across the country maintain the standards.

Salisu Oloko, Nasarawa state lead of CODE, said this during a town hall on COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project in Keffi, Nasarawa state.

Oloko said all primary healthcare centres in the country should have the capacity to host, store and administer COVID-19 vaccines.

“The centres are faced with grossly dilapidated infrastructure, poor and inadequate staffing, and lack of capacity to administer vaccines,” Oloko said.

“Two of every 10 facilities do not have any form of electricity; they supplement natural light with lanterns or torch lights; while some of them do not have access to clean water, thus relying on water from sources like wells and rainwater stored in tanks.

“With regards to vaccines’ storage and administration, only 56 out of the 90 PHCs assessed have the recommended pharmaceutical fridge to host vaccines.”

Egypt to intensify COVID vaccination amid possible fourth wave

Egypt has announced plans to vaccinate 4.5 million of its state employees against COVID-19 in August and September amid concerns of a possible fourth wave of infections.

Speaking at a briefing on Monday, Hala Zayed, health minister, said the country’s infection rate started increasing last week, adding that a significant increase is expected in late September.

“It is important for the Egyptian government and the political leadership that we work to intensify vaccinations in the coming period,” Zayed said.

Nigeria records 565 infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says 565 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 13 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The agency confirmed the new cases in its update for August 23, 2021.

The states that recorded positive cases include Lagos (205), Rivers (73), Ondo (63), FCT (53), Oyo (53), Ekiti (37), Delta (24), Edo (20), Benue (12), Bayelsa (6), Kwara (6), Osun (6), Ogun (5), and Adamawa (2).

The NCDC said the reported figures include a backlog of cases from Benue state reported on August 17 (7), August 18 (1) and August 19 (4).

The agency said 363 persons were discharged on Monday after recovering from COVID-19, while 8 persons died of the infection.

To date, 187,588 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, 168,818 recoveries have been made, and 2,276 deaths have been recorded across the country.

US grants full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

The United States Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The full approval is the first to be given to any COVID vaccine by the US drug regulator. The vaccine is authorised for people aged 16 and above.

President Joe Biden said the FDA approval is “an important moment in our fight against the pandemic”.

“If you’re one of the millions of Americans who said that they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of the FDA, it has now happened,” Biden said.

“It’s time for you to go get your vaccination. Get it today. There is no time to waste.”

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA