Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria records 28 infections — but zero deaths

Nigeria on Thursday recorded 28 COVID-19 infections. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday.

Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, has announced incentives for students who get vaccinated against COVID-19.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the university said full-time students who show proof of vaccination before August 7 will receive monetary compensation.

“Residential students will receive an additional $500 credit to their housing bill. Part-time students will receive a prorated credit based on the number of courses taken in the fall,” the statement said.

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine —mRNA-1273— showed 96 percent efficacy among teenagers in early data.

Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer (CEO) of Moderna who disclosed this on Thursday, said the TeenCOVE study included people between the ages of 12 and 17.

“We are pleased to report this morning an interim update to our TeenCOVE study,” Bancel said.

“An initial interim analysis of our Phase 2/3 TeenCOVE study of mRNA-1273 showed vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 of 96% and mRNA-1273 was generally well tolerated with no serious safety concerns identified to date.”

Currently, the Moderna vaccine is approved for use in people who are 18 years and above.

Nigeria records 28 COVID-19 cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday recorded 28 cases of COVID-19 in five states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

States that recorded new cases are Lagos (10), Rivers (7), Akwa Ibom (6), Delta (2), FCT (2), and Kaduna (1).

According to the agency, Thursday’s report includes “data from Akwa Ibom state recorded over the last two days and data from Delta state recorded for 5th May, 2021″.

No death was reported on Thursday — this keeps the fatality figure at 2,065.

Twenty-one people were said to have been discharged after recovering from the virus.

Nigeria’s total confirmed cases now stands at 165,301 while 155,424 people have been discharged.

Pfizer/BioNTech to donate vaccine for Olympic athletes

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says Pfizer/BioNTech will donate COVID-19 vaccine doses to athletes ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games scheduled for July.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by IOC, the national committees will work with local governments to coordinate distribution of the vaccines “in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations”.

It added that providing vaccines to athletes is one of the critical ways to ensure the Games are as safe and successful as possible.

China to discuss COVID-19 vaccine patents with WTO

China says it is ready to discuss sharing the COVID-19 vaccine patent with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The development comes about 24 hours after US President Joe Biden backed the waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, a move that will allow more countries to manufacture the vaccine.

Speaking on Thursday, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said “China is ready to have a constructive dialogue within the WTO and to achieve a positive and fair solution”.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA