TheNewsGuru

Tag: COVID-19 Vaccine

  • Governors will receive COVID 19 vaccine on national television – Fayemi

    Governors will receive COVID 19 vaccine on national television – Fayemi

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi, has announced that governors will take the COVID-19 vaccine on live television to demonstrate to their residents that the vaccine works.

    Governor Fayemi made this known on Friday to State House correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari where security, the economy and vaccine management were discussed.

    He also noted that the president has agreed to convey to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the need to use influencers such as religious leaders, entertainers, and athletes to engender the confidence of citizens at the state and local level.

    This, according to the governor will help to address the cultural and religious concerns around taking the vaccine.

  • Fraudster injects fake COVID-19 vaccine on 92-year-old woman

    Fraudster injects fake COVID-19 vaccine on 92-year-old woman

    British police on Friday hunted a fraudster who tricked a 92-year-old woman into handing over £160 to receive a fake coronavirus vaccine jab in what they called a “disgusting and totally unacceptable assault”.

    The conman knocked on the door of the pensioner in Surbiton, southwest London, on December 30, claiming to work for the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

    She let him into her home, where he jabbed her in the arm with a “dart-like implement” before asking her for £160 ($217, 177 euros), which he said would be refunded.

    The City of London Police, which investigates frauds and other scams, said it was not known what substance was injected, but the victim showed no ill effects.

    “It is crucial we catch him as soon as possible as not only is he defrauding individuals of money, he may endanger people’s lives,” said Detective Inspector Kevin Ives.

    Meanwhile, Northern Ireland police warned internet users about a phishing scam in which they are told they are “eligible” for a vaccine before being asked for bank details.

    Britain began a mass vaccination programme on December 8 last year, prioritising care home residents and workers, the over-70s, and other vulnerable groups.

  • Covid-19: Buhari, Osinbajo, SGF to receive vaccine on live television

    Covid-19: Buhari, Osinbajo, SGF to receive vaccine on live television

    In a bid to encourage Nigerians to get inoculated, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be receiving their COVID-19 vaccine doses on live television.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha will also receive the vaccine on live telecast in a move the government hopes will help drive awareness.

    Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency Faisal Shuaib stated this on Thursday at the weekly press briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

    He said: “On Tuesday, I mentioned that we will like to see a situation where Mr President, the Vice President, the SGF, critical leaders come and take the vaccine in full glare of the public to demonstrate that this vaccine is safe.

    “So, we have to make provisions for those. But even in developed countries, what we have seen is that apart from the prioritisation of health workers, you have to also identify critical leaders that you don’t want them to be wiped off by the virus.”

    Shuaib said experience had shown that vaccines are always better than health immunity.

    He said for COVID-19, it would take approximately 10 years for one to be able to achieve health immunity and many people would have died if health immunity is to be relied upon.

    The vaccines are expected in the country by the end of January.

  • BREAKING: Atiku receives COVID-19 Vaccine in Dubai [Photos]

    BREAKING: Atiku receives COVID-19 Vaccine in Dubai [Photos]

    Reports reaching TheNewsGuru.com, TNG from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) indicates that Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has received the Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine.

    According to reports, Atiku arrived Dubai on Wednesday morning and was later spotted in the afternoon same day receiving the vaccine alongside top Dubai’s business men.

    With this development, the ex-VP becomes the first Nigerian Citizen to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine.

  • 75-year-old Israeli dies less than two hours after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

    75-year-old Israeli dies less than two hours after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

    A seventy-year-old Israeli man from Beit Shean died on Monday morning from cardiac arrest, about two hours after receiving the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

    The man received the vaccine at 8:30 in the morning, and waited for the customary time at the health clinic before he was released to his home feeling well. Sometime later, the man lost consciousness and was later confirmed dead from heart failure.

    The Health Ministry said: “A 75-year-old man from the north of the country suffering from active heart disease and malignant disease, who has undergone a number of heart attacks, was vaccinated this morning against the coronavirus and died at home shortly after the procedure.

    “The Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, has appointed a case investigation committee headed by the head of the Safety and Quality Division in the Ministry of Health.”

    “We share in the family’s grief.”

    It added that “initial examination does not show a link between the unfortunate incident and the vaccination”.

    “The vaccination campaign continues,” it stated.

  • COVID-19 vaccine not for sale to Nigerians – PTF Coordinator

    COVID-19 vaccine not for sale to Nigerians – PTF Coordinator

    The National Coordinator of Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on COVID-19 Sani Aliyu says the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to Nigerians free when vaccination begins.

    Aliyu made this known on Wednesday in a monitored interview on Channels Television.

    He also revealed plans by the Nigerian government on delivering and administering the vaccine and gave the assurance that Nigerians will be freely vaccinated.

    “Yesterday, the President gave the PTF the mandate to proceed with preparations with regard to the vaccine.

    “The President has also given us a marching order that the COVID-19 vaccine be made available in Nigeria.

    “The COVID-19 vaccine will be available in Nigeria making use of the GAVI arrangement. We already have the assurance that we will have 20% of our population accommodated by GAVI, which is about 40 million Nigerians. They won’t need to pay for that (the vaccine),” the PTF coordinator said.

    He added that although there are fears that Nigerians may be reluctant to receive shots of the vaccines, efforts are being made to sensitise many and deliver the vaccines across the country.

    “We have continued to work with the Federal Ministry of Health and Primary Healthcare Development Agency. The NPHCDA has a lot of experience in delivering vaccines across the country. They were involved with the polio vaccination and even at the moment, they are responsible for the delivery of the growth in child vaccination across the country, so they have a lot of experience.

    “A lot of work is going on behind the scene. The NPHCDA has a committee, the Minister has set up an advisory committee and the PTF is now coming in to make sure we coordinate effectively.

    “The biggest challenge we will have with the vaccine is not going to be the logistics, the biggest challenge will be the public acceptance of the safety of the vaccines and allowing themselves to be vaccinated, the challenge will be very similar to the one we have with polio,” he added.

  • VIDEO: US President-Elect Biden Receives COVID-19 Vaccine On Live TV

    VIDEO: US President-Elect Biden Receives COVID-19 Vaccine On Live TV

    President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. received the coronavirus vaccine on live television on Monday at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., sending a message to Americans across the country that the vaccine is safe to take.

    “Left’s good,” he told the nurse practitioner who administered the vaccine, rolling up the sleeve of his black long-sleeve turtleneck and exposing his left arm. “You just go ahead anytime you’re ready.”

    He credited the Trump administration for its work on Operation Warp Speed, which helped to deliver a quick vaccine.

    “The administration deserves some credit getting this off the ground,” he said. “I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine.”

    Mr. Biden, however, warned Americans that vigilance in the coming months was still necessary.

    “It’s going to take time,” he said, encouraging people to continue to wear masks and socially distance. “If you don’t have to travel, don’t travel,” he said. “It’s really important.”

    He thanked health care workers, calling them heroes, and ended with an awkward elbow bump with Tabe Mase, the nurse practitioner who administered to him the first course of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. His wife, Dr. Jill Biden, received the vaccine privately, earlier in the day on Monday, according to a spokesman, and joined him at the hospital.

    Since March, Mr. Biden’s team has been taking public health guidelines about social distancing and masks seriously, as President Trump and his aides have willfully disregarded them. But even Mr. Biden’s more careful circle has been infiltrated by the virus. Representative Cedric L. Richmond, Democrat of Louisiana and one of Mr. Biden’s closest advisers, tested positive for the coronavirus last week, the transition team announced.

    Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is expected to receive her vaccine after Christmas, a spokeswoman said, following advice from doctors who recommended Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris stagger their first shots rather than receive them together.

    Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert who will also be Mr. Biden’s chief medical adviser, will be vaccinated at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at what the National Institutes of Health is billing as a “kick off” event showcasing Moderna’s vaccine, which received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday.

    Dr. Fauci’s vaccination has been long-awaited by public figures and health experts. Former President Barack Obama recently said that if Dr. Fauci endorses a coronavirus vaccine, that will be a signal to him that it is safe.

    Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, all received the first dose of the vaccine on Friday.

    Mr. Trump, however, has neither participated in nor supported the public health campaign to reassure vaccine skeptics worried about its dangers.

    On Friday, he did nothing to promote Mr. Pence taking the vaccine, an event held at the White House that officials asked all of the television networks to carry live on TV for maximum exposure. Instead, Mr. Trump was tweeting out anti-mask claims minutes after Mr. Pence received his vaccine.

    Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have defended his decision to put off his own vaccination, arguing that he still has the protective effects of the monoclonal antibody cocktail that was used to treat him for the virus in October.

    But doctors have said it would set a good example to Americans who have recovered from Covid-19 that they still should receive the vaccine.

    “We know that infection doesn’t induce a very strong immune response and it wanes over time,” Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser of Operation Warp Speed, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “So I think, as a clear precaution, it is appropriate to be vaccinated because it’s safe. I think people should be vaccinated, indeed.”

  • BREAKING: Nigeria will receive 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine early 2021 – FG

    BREAKING: Nigeria will receive 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine early 2021 – FG

    The federal government has assured Nigerians it has commenced the process for receiving 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021.

    The information was made public by the Executive Secretary, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, executive at the presidential task force on COVID-19 media briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

    He said Nigeria is a member of COVAX, an international coalition, under the WHO umbrella.

    Shuaib added that 92 countries came together to ensure access and safety of vaccines.

    He said the expected 20 million doses will first be given to workers in the health sector and vulnerable citizens.

    “We are on course to access safe vaccine in the first quarter of 2021. We will be leveraging on the polio platform to ensure effective delivery of vaccines to our vulnerable population,” he said.

    “We have established a supra-ministerial advisory committee to ensure a seamless administration. A technical group meets every week and has devised a risk communication plan to deliver safe vaccines to Nigerians.”

  • Trump pressures authorities to develop COVID-19 vaccine before presidential poll

    Trump pressures authorities to develop COVID-19 vaccine before presidential poll

    U.S. President Donald Trump put pressure on the authorities to develop and approve a vaccine for the novel coronavirus in a tweet on Saturday.

    “The deep state, or whoever, over at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics.

    “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after Nov. 3. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!” Trump tweeted.

    The tweet was directed at Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the FDA.

    Trump has said in the past that he hopes that a vaccine is developed around the time of the election.

    Experts, however, have warned that any political interference in the vaccine testing and approval process could cast doubt and undermine its safety and legitimacy.

    Any concerns about the vaccine could lead to a lower level of uptake, making it harder to battle the pandemic.

    Hahn has repeatedly emphasized that the regulator will stick to its usual stringent scientific processes and has said that it has not faced any pressure to alter its criteria.

    Larger clinical studies are under way for several vaccine candidates, involving up to 30,000 subjects.

    If these are completed by autumn, the regulator could start the approval process, which is normally costly and lengthy.

    U.S. government experts, including the government’s infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci, have said they are confident a vaccine could be available in early 2021.

  • Over $100bn needed to access COVID-19 vaccine – WHO

    Over $100bn needed to access COVID-19 vaccine – WHO

    The World Health Organisation, WHO, has disclosed that over a “$100 billion” is needed to ensure global access to the COVID-19 vaccine when available.

    WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus disclosed this during a press conference in Geneva Switzerland, NAN reports.

    He, however, stated that money was small when compared to the $10 trillion spent by some advanced countries.

    “This sounds like lots of money and it is.

    “But it is small in comparison to the 10 trillion dollars that have already been invested by G20 countries in fiscal stimulus to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic so far.”

    The WHO chief also disclosed that registered cases of COVID-19 will reach 20 million, with 750,000 deaths, by the end of this week.