TheCable

Nigeria on Thursday recorded 184 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday. 

‘It’s irresponsible’ — White House tackles China for rejecting COVID origin probe

The White House has expressed disappointment over China’s decision to rebuff the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) proposal for a second phase of an investigation into the origin of COVID-19.

In May, President Joe Biden ordered US intelligence agencies to find answers to the origin of the coronavirus.

The WHO this month also announced plan for a second phase of studies into the origins of the coronavirus in the Wuhan city of China.

But Zeng Yixin, vice minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), rejected the move saying the WHO plan “disregards common sense and defies science”.

Speaking to journalists, Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said China’s stand on the issue is “irresponsible”.

“Their position is irresponsible and, frankly, dangerous,” she said.

Africa needs 21m COVID vaccines weekly to meet 10% population target by September

WHO says African countries will need 21 million COVID vaccine doses weekly to meet the 10 percent population target by September.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said this at a media briefing on Thursday.

“Nearly 70 percent of African countries will not reach the 10 percent vaccination target for all countries by the end of September at the current pace,” she said.

“Around 3.5 million to four million doses are administered weekly on the continent, but to meet the September target this must rise to 21 million doses at the very least each week.”

Africa seeks local production of COVID vaccines

Strive Masiyiwa, African Union coronavirus envoy, have asked global pharmaceutical firms to licence the production of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa rather than just approve piecemeal contract deals.

Masiyiwa’s comments come about 24 hours after Pfizer/BioNTech said it has concluded a deal with Biovac, a South African Institute, to carry out the final stages of vaccine manufacturing where the product is processed and put into vials.

“We want to make clear to all suppliers … if you want a long-term future with us now, you produce from Africa,” Reuters quoted Masiyiwa to have said.

Okonjo-Iweala: Inequity in vaccine distribution unacceptable

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says the current inequity in vaccine distribution by developed countries is “not acceptable”.

“The current inequity we see is not acceptable by stretch of imagination, I mean the good news is 1.1 billion more doses were produced in June, 45 percent higher than May. The bad news is that of this amount to only 1.4 percent went to Africa, and only 0.24 percent to low-income countries,” she said.

Nigeria records 184 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 184 COVID-19 cases across seven states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Thursday.

The latest figure represents a 22.69 percent decline after a surge on Wednesday (238 cases).

Lagos recorded 124 positive samples — representing 67.39 percent of the total number reported on Thursday.

Other states that reported cases include Rivers (27), Sokoto (9), FCT (8), Oyo (6), Ekiti (5), Delta (4), and Plateau (1).

Also, 31 persons were discharged, while no death was recorded.

Currently, Nigeria has 170,306 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 164,772 recoveries, and 2,130 deaths.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA