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Tag: vaccine

  • White House summons Nicki Minaj to discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety

    White House summons Nicki Minaj to discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety

    After superstar rapper Nicki Minaj questioned the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine in a post on Twitter this week, the White House confirmed on Wednesday that it had offered her a call with a doctor to answer questions about the safety of the vaccine, New York Times reports.

    The rapper’s remarks drew widespread attention after she said she would not attend the Met Gala on Monday because she had yet to receive the vaccine, which was required for attendees.

    “As we have with others, we offered a call with Nicki Minaj and one of our doctors to answer questions she has about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine,” a White House official said in a statement on Wednesday night.

    Minaj appeared to believe that she was going to visit the White House. She said on Twitter on Wednesday that she would “be dressed in all pink like Legally Blonde so they know I mean business.”

    “I’ll ask questions on behalf of the people who have been made fun of for simply being human,” she added.

    TheNewsGuru recalls that Minaj asserted that her cousin’s friend in Trinidad and Tobago “became impotent” after receiving the vaccine, a claim that the nation’s minister of health, Terrence Deyalsingh, rejected.

    “There has been no such reported either side effect or adverse event,” he said in a news conference online. “And what was sad about this is that it wasted our time yesterday, trying to track down, because we take all these claims seriously, whether it’s on social media or mainstream media.”

     

  • Nicki Minaj misses Met Gala over refusal to get COVID-19 vaccine

    Nicki Minaj misses Met Gala over refusal to get COVID-19 vaccine

    Popular rapper, Nicki Minaj has revealed the reason behind her absence at the 2021 Met Gala. Guests of the event are required to show proof of vaccination over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 38-year-old entertainer is yet to receive the COVID-19 jab.

    “They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. If I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research,” she wrote on Twitter. “I’m working on that now.”

    She added, “In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grip your head & face. Not that loose one ”(sic)

    It wasn’t long before a portion of Minaj’s ever-loyal fans, Barbz, urged her to rethink her stance on vaccines, PageSix reports.

    “Nicki the vaccine doesn’t prevent getting covid, it prevents you from getting serious symptoms,” one social media user wrote, echoing research from the CDC that shows vaccines are effective at keeping people from contracting fatal cases of COVID-19.

    Still, Minaj maintained, “Babe. That’s not true,” she replied before seemingly acknowledging that she previously caught the virus. “I had the exact same symptoms as people with the damn vaccine.”

    The “Starships” singer later said that her cousin in Trinidad refuses to get the vaccine because ‘his friend got it & became impotent.’

    “His testicles became swollen,” she alleged. “His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”(sic)

    According to the CDC, the vaccine is safe and is not known to cause impotency nor genital swelling. Rather, it is known to maximize protection from emerging variants — including Delta — while possibly preventing the virus from spreading to others.

    Minaj’s tweets came hours before the event was set to kick off at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Minaj also skipped Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, saying she would “explain why another day;” it’s possible MTV’s event also had a vaccine mandate in place.

     

  • Lagos to resume COVID-19 vaccination Aug. 25 — Sanwo-Olu

    Lagos to resume COVID-19 vaccination Aug. 25 — Sanwo-Olu

    The Lagos State Government says it will resume vaccination against COVID-19 on Wednesday, Aug. 25, with the administration of the Moderna vaccine.

    Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated this at the Lagos House, Ikeja, at a news conference on the state’s management of COVID-19.

    Sanwo-Olu, who gave the updates on the fight against the virus, said of the 601,000 doses promised Lagos by the Federal Government about 299,000 doses of the Moderna vaccines had been received on Aug. 18.

    He said that the vaccine received from the federal government was for the second phase of the national vaccination campaign, which will commence in Lagos State on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021.

    The Governor added that vaccination centres had also been increased to 150 from the 88 used during the first phase of the exercise, to prevent crowding at the centres.

    “The increase in the number of centres is to prevent the gathering of large crowds and ensure that the vaccination campaign does not itself become a super-spreader event, especially given the fact that the new wave of the pandemic was a very virulent one.

    ”The Moderna vaccine is a two-dose vaccine, like the AstraZeneca vaccine that was deployed during the first phase of the vaccination. When you receive your first dose, you will be given a date on which to return for your second and final dose.

    ”Let me also reiterate that this Moderna vaccine that will be administered starting this week, should not be mixed with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

    ”What this means is that only persons who have not been previously vaccinated at all should take the Moderna vaccine.

    ”If you have previously taken one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, please exercise patience as we await delivery of a fresh allocation from the Federal Government,” he said.

    Sanwo-Olu said that one of the major pillars of the state’s mitigation strategy for the third wave was vaccination, explaining that countries that had vaccinated a large percentage of their population were recording drastic reductions, in the numbers of COVID-19 related deaths.

    ”This is one of the reasons why we have not spared any cost to ensure that the vaccines that have been provided by the Federal Government are made available to every resident that meets the requirements for the vaccination programme.

    ”We will ensure that the administration of this vaccine is based solely on appointment. Please, do not visit any of the allocated facilities until you have registered online and been given an appointment date.

    ”Register and book an appointment on the Federal Government’s vaccination portal, at nphcda.vaccination.gov.ng. You can also find the list of healthcare facilities at which vaccinations will be taking place on the website of the Lagos State Government.

    ”Our ultimate goal in Lagos State is to vaccinate 60 per cent of our residents in good time. Let me remind all Lagosians that COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria is free of charge,” the governor said.

  • FG begins 2nd phase of COVID-19 vaccination

    FG begins 2nd phase of COVID-19 vaccination

    The Federal Government on Monday began administration of new vaccines marking the start of the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

    Speaking at the inauguration at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi Abuja, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr Boss Mustapha said the country began the second phase, having received about four million doses of Moderna vaccines, donated by the government of the U.S. government.

    The exercise had earlier been scheduled for Aug. 10, but was postponed due to “purely administrative” reasons, according to the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    Nigeria began the COVID-19 vaccination on March 5, having received approximately four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX.

    These led to the successful vaccination of 3,938,945 eligible persons across the 36 states and FCT, representing 98 per cent utilisation of the vaccines.

    Over two million, five hundred people have been vaccinated for the first dose and 1,404,205 have received their second dose of the vaccine.

    To achieve herd immunity against the infection, Nigeria had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population before the end of 2021, and 70 per cent by the end of 2022.

    To achieve this, the vaccine roll-out was scheduled to be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team amongst others.

    The second phase which commenced today would capture older adults aged 50 years and above and those with comorbidities aged between 18 and 49.

    Mustapha who doubles as the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) said the country also received another 177,600 doses of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines from African Union (AU).

    “The arrival of the 4,000,080 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Government of the United States and the 177,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines out of the 29,850,000 doses the Federal Government has purchased through the Africa-Import-Export Bank and the African Union, is highly encouraging and motivating for us at the Presidential Steering Committee,” he said.

    According to Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria procured nearly 40 million doses of the J&J vaccines under the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

    Ehanire said that the J&J vaccines are expected to be deployed in hard-to-reach areas, to eliminate the need for travel for a second dose.

    The Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, disclosed that the country would be receiving additional 698,880 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine today.

    Shuaib disclosed that the vaccines donated by the UK government would be targeted at those due for their second dose of the vaccinated.

    “In the next couple of weeks, we will be expecting up to 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to compliment what we already have.

    “This will also ensure that we cover not only those who will be taking their 2nd dose but also for those who will want to take their first dose of this vaccine,” he said.

    Dignitaries present at the ceremony were the Minister of Health, the Minister of State for Health, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), DrChikwe Ihekweazu and the Medical Director of the FMC, Professor Aliyu Ahmed.

  • NAFDAC approves more vaccines for COVID-19

    NAFDAC approves more vaccines for COVID-19

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved more vaccines for the treatment of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    The Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

    She said approval had been given to Moderna, a vaccine from the Rovi Pharma Madrid, Spain.

    Other vaccines also approved are: AstraZeneca AZD1222 produced by SK Bioscience Company Limited from Korea and Sputnik V, produced by Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia.

    Adeyeye said that the NAFDAC Vaccine Committee had been carefully assessing the vaccines and several others in spite of
    the approval by stringent regulatory countries and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

    She added that all the COVID-19 vaccines that had gone through the process of approval had been certified for quality, safety and efficacy evaluation, a prerequisite for acceptance by COVAX facility.

    According to her, most regulatory agencies across the world use this mechanism to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer the vaccines.

    She noted that NAFDAC spent 15 days to thoroughly examine the dossier or submission package of the vaccines to ensure that the benefits outweighed the risks and any other side effect for proper monitoring.

    She said “the EUL will allow Nigeria to receive supplies of the vaccines from the COVAX facility. COVAX is the pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator’s jointly led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO.

    “Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access to low-middle income countries (LMIC) of which Nigeria is one.

    “NAFDAC also gives full review for vaccines that have not gone through EUL route. This mechanism is explained in our guidance developed by the COVID-19 Vaccine Committee.”

    On Moderna and AstraZeneca AZD1222 vaccines, the director general said that the vaccines had received WHO EUL and were given accelerated approval, while Sputnik V was yet to receive the EUL approval, subjected to six months review by NAFDAC.

    She said that NAFDAC was granted access to the dossiers and prior assessment reports of Moderna and AstraZeneca AZD1222 from the WHO website at different times over the past two months.

    According to her, the Moderna vaccine is presented as a white to off-white, ready-to-use dispersion for intramuscular injection in a
    multi-dose vial containing 6.3ml (10 doses in a 10-vial pack, adding that, each dose have (0.5ml) contains 100 micrograms of messenger RNA, and is given as two dose vaccine.

    She said that unopened vaccine vials could be stored or transported frozen at -25 degree centigrade to -15 degree centigrade for up to seven months and 30 days when stored at 2 to 8 degree centigrade, protected from light.

    She added that the AstraZeneca AZD1222 is a recombinant ChAdOx adenoviral vector encoding the structural surface glycoprotein (Spike protein) antigen of the SARS-CoV-2.

    Adeyeye said that the AstraZeneca AZD1222 vaccine solution is colourless to slightly brown, clear to slightly opaque packed as a 5ml solution that contains 5 x 10 virus particles for injection in a 5ml clear glass multidose vial that could be stored at 2 to 8 degree centigrade, and is given as two dose injection.

    On Sputnik V vaccine which is also known as Gam-COVID-Vac COVID-19 vaccine, NAFDAC DG said “it is supplied as a two-component product, both of which are 3ml (5 doses) solution for intramuscular injection in glass vial.

    “It is a two-dose injection. Each 0.5 ml dose of the component I is formulated to contain virus particles (1.0+0.5) x 10 of Ad26 vector encoding the S glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2,” adding that the product has a shelf life of six months when stored at -18 degree centigrade or three months when stored at 2-8 zero degree centigrade.

    Adeyeye said the agency did a thorough assessment of each vaccine and were found to have the quality, safety and efficacy attributes, with the benefits far outweighing the risks.

    She said that the pharmacovigilance unit would conduct safety and monitoring studies on the vaccines to record the side and adverse effects following immunization.

    She further said that other studies like immunological responses, incidences of reactogenicity and possible dose optimisation would be done in a cohort of vaccines.

    The director general added that the agency would be using its recently launched Med Safety App for active pharmacovigilance of the vaccines in collaboration with respective sister agencies, and urged healthcare workers to download same App to monitor Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) and report.

    She said NAFDAC had begun in-country training on the use of the App for healthcare workers.

    She noted that the agency planned to also use the traceability with GS1 technology to monitor vaccines distribution using Global Trade Item (GTIN), adding that “all these were to prevent fake vaccines from infiltrating the supply chain and to ensure there was no diversion.”

  • Nigeria intensifies efforts towards COVID-19 vaccines production – Onu

    Nigeria intensifies efforts towards COVID-19 vaccines production – Onu

    Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, says Nigeria is intensifying efforts in research towards the production of COVID -19 vaccines.

    Onu dropped the hint when the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Clara Paulido-Escandell, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Monday.

    The minister said that professionals and scientists were being involved in the production process.

    He said that producing COVID-19 vaccines locally would assist in creating jobs and reducing poverty rate in Nigeria as well as benefit other countries.

    The minister expressed Nigerai’s willingness for partnerships with Cuba in local vaccine production.

    Onu stressed that Nigeria would leverage on the existing bilateral relationship between both countries and work together in other areas for mutual benefits.

    He noted that there were claims for the cure of the disease but said that the claims were being investigated at various levels.

    The minister said there was need for Nigerian professionals and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to ensure that the Executive Order No. 5 was fully operational.

    He added that the ministry should be notified when any Nigerian professional suffered unfairness in procurement process.

    “We want all Nigerian professionals to be at the centre of economic activities in the country,” he said.

    Earlier in her remarks, Paulido-Escandel acknowledged that her last visit to the ministry offered her the opportunity of working with some agencies to achieve local vaccine production.

    She listed the agencies to include the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and Shetsco Development Institute.

    The Cuban ambassador warned against the rising cases of the new COVID-19 variant.

  • Agency addresses issue of electromagnetic ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines

    Agency addresses issue of electromagnetic ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines

    The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says COVID-19 vaccines do not contain electromagnetic ingredients that can cause side effects.

    The Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said this at a press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The briefing was in reaction to reports on social media that electronic devices recognised people that had received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

    The unsubstantiated reports claimed that anyone who received the vaccine would become magnetic and have their DNA altered and die from blood clots.

    He said the typical dose was not large enough to contain a magnet, and that a magnet that could fit in a needle would not be powerful enough to attract anything.

    “We are witnessing an increasing wave of COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation that should leave any patriotic Nigerian wondering how long mischief makers want the world to remain in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “The creativity with which some people misinform others and spread misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccination calls for more deliberate, decisive, and consistent steps to counter as well as provide correct and accurate information.

    “That will help more people to make informed decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Shuaib.

    He said it was unfortunate that the right of the public to true and accurate information on matters of collective concern was being threatened by a few others taking advantage of the social media to mislead people about their health.

    “Let me quickly state here that this breach of public right to true and accurate information about COVID-19 vaccination is a challenge to the media, which should be taken seriously.

    “There are no ingredients in the AstraZeneca vaccines or any other COVID-19 vaccines that make people to exhibit magnetic properties after being vaccinated for COVID-19.

    “Scientifically, the claim does not make sense,” he explained.

    The NPHCDA boss said it was evident that Nigeria had made significant progress towards utilising the 4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine it got from COVAX facility, and that was why its vaccine roll out had been described as the best in Africa.

    He said it was necessary for Nigerians to confront the false theorists if they really wanted the country and the world to overcome the pandemic and recover from its adversities.

    “At the onset, it was claimed that COVID-19 was introduced to justify developing vaccines that would be used to depopulate Africans. Those who came up with this theory said that anybody who takes the vaccine would die immediately.

    “Today, as we all can see, nearly 4 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Nigeria and we have not recorded any case of death linked to the vaccination.

    “On seeing this reality, the rumour mongers changed their narratives to saying that the vaccines used in Europe and America are not the same as the ones used in Africa.

    “Again, as evidence has come to show, it is now clear that the COVID-19 vaccines used in Europe, America and elsewhere in the World are the same used in Nigeria and other countries in Africa,” he said.

    According to the NPHCDA boss, the conspiracy theorists have gone silent about this claim, and are now saying that anyone who takes the vaccine will die after two years.

    “Nigerians are predominantly a country of Muslims and Christians. We know that these religions are clear that no-one knows the year of the day they will die. So why would we even pay attention to such spurious claims?

    “Let us not forget that this same falsehood of children dying after vaccination was spread about Polio vaccine, but after many years, children who took polio vaccine are still alive and have grown into adulthood and having their own children, as expected.

    “There has not been any case of a child’s death that is linked to polio vaccination, and many more children have been born to discount another claim that polio vaccination would lead to infertility,” he stressed.

    He said about 2,495,632 people had been vaccinated with the first dose, while 1,370,130 had received the second dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

    “Overall, Nigeria has successfully utilised 3.9 million doses, representing 96 per cent of the 4,024,000 doses of the vaccines received in the country.

    “Nigeria is poised to achieve 100 per cent utilisation of the doses of vaccine it has received in the next few days. This is to ensure that people are protected against COVID-19, and normalcy is restored,” said Shuaib.

    Meanwhile, Dr Walter Kazadi, Country Representative, World Health Organisation (WHO), said no individual should be victimised for their inability to access vaccines.

    Kazadi said Nigeria was amongst the best countries in Africa in terms of the number of persons vaccinated.

    Also speaking, representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Dr Peter Hawkins, said misinformation during a health crisis left people unprotected and vulnerable to the disease and spread fear and stigmatisation.

    According to Hawkins, who was represented by Dr. Gupta Gagan, information can be lifesaving, but people will only take on information that they trust.

  • FG speaks on local production of COVID-19 vaccine

    FG speaks on local production of COVID-19 vaccine

    The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said that local production of COVID-19 vaccines cannot start now in Nigeria.

    Ehanire made this known in Abuja, while explaining why local production of COVID-19 vaccines cannot start in the country at the moment as the world continue to fight vaccines nationalism.

    He attributed the delay to government’s inability to procure the required technology for the production.

    The minister said that the N10 billion earmarked by the National Assembly for that purpose is intact.

    The Federal Government, he said, was still in talking with local vaccine firm, Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited.

    “Nigeria is a 49 per cent shareholder in a company called Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited, and the bio-vaccine is a revival of the former vaccine plants that the Federal Government used to have, in which the private sector was invited to join and form a special purpose vehicle – a company called Bio-Vaccine.

    ”Now the joint venture was stalled because of the COVID-19 outbreak – when there was a lockdown and when nothing could move.

    ”So there is a lot of delay by the company in getting themselves on their feet.

    “The aspiration to produce vaccines has not been fulfilled. It is not that it is abandoned.

    ”We are working on it and I have spoken with one of the members of the board of management of the bio-vaccine and we are working on getting that technology to both produce routine vaccines and also COVID-19 vaccines under licence and importation of the technology and partnership for it.”

    Recall that the Ministry of Finance had released N10 billion to support COVID-19 vaccine production in the country.

  • FG okays second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for eligible Nigerians

    FG okays second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for eligible Nigerians

    Nigeria will begin administering the the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines on eligible Nigerians who received the first shots.

    Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), made this known during the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) briefing in Abuja.

    Shuaib advised health workers, frontline workers aged 18 years and above and persons aged 50 years and above to visit any designated vaccination site to receive the vaccine free of charge.

    “I want to remind you that the eligibility period between the first and second doses of the vaccine has been expanded from 12 weeks to between six to 12 weeks, in line with the scientific recommendation provided by the World Health Organisation’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE on immunization).

    ”The PSC has approved the second dose of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccination in all states of the federation and the FCT.

    “We have redeployed Senior Supervisors to the states and have continued to monitor activities with daily evening review meetings to determine the status of the COVID-19 vaccine implementation in all states and the FCT.

    “These meetings, allows us to receive reports from the sub-national level on how the campaigns are proceeding, what challenges they face, and how we can pro-actively anticipate and resolve any impending challenges.

    ”The meetings also provide an avenue to troubleshoot and resolve any operational hurdles as they emerge, before they become problematic,” he explained.

    He said that as was recorded the polio virus eradication fight, the agency is strengthening the COVID-19 vaccination campaign at community level with Town Hall meetings across the country.

    ”Already we held the North-Central Zonal Town Hall Meeting two weeks ago in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa state.

    ”In weeks ahead, the agency hopes to continue the dialogue in other geo-political zones of the country.

    “The town hall meetings afford the communities the opportunity to directly participate in dialogue with the government as we work to protect the people against the pandemic.

    “We know that many people are very concerned about the health threats posed by COVID-19, but also about the economic threats.

    ”The meetings allow for views and concerns to be heard as we work together to move beyond COVID-19 as a nation,” he said.

    The NPHCDA boss urged Nigerians to continue to cooperate with vaccinators who were providing an incredibly important service to the nation amid this global crisis.

    He added that the government would ensure that only safe and efficacious vaccines were supplied for all phases of the vaccination campaign in the country.

    “We would like to state our appreciation to the Nigerian citizens for the cooperation they are providing to our vaccination teams across the country.

    ”We are continuing to optimise our registration and immunization data system, to maximize the efficiency of this system.

    “The need to protect ourselves and put COVID-19 behind us, the way we have done to polio, so that we can return to our normal living, truly is a national effort,” he stated.

  • EU contract with AstraZeneca on COVID-19 jabs ends June

    EU contract with AstraZeneca on COVID-19 jabs ends June

    The European Union has not extended a contract for COVID-19 vaccines with British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca, Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton said on Sunday.

    “We have not extended the order beyond the month of June.

    “We will see. We will see what happens,” Breton told French broadcaster France Inter with regards to AstraZeneca.

    AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been linked with a very rare risk of potential blood clots, especially for younger women, resulting in some countries restricting its use to only older age groups.

    Breton expressed a positive view about the quality of AstraZeneca’s shot. “This is a good vaccine,” he said.

    The European Commission on May 8, struck a deal with COVID-19 vaccine producer BioNTech/Pfizer to buy up to 1.8 billion additional doses until 2023.