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Tag: vaccines

  • Nigeria first in Africa to receive mpox vaccines – WHO

    Nigeria first in Africa to receive mpox vaccines – WHO

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Nigeria is the first country in Africa to receive mpox vaccines, aimed at combating the spread of the new strain of mpox virus.

    WHO in a statement stated that Nigeria received 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines on Tuesday.

    On Aug. 14 the chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the rise of mpox, formerly monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern.

    Following his announcement, the chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said he was working with partners to facilitate equitable access to vaccines.

    The United States government has donated the Jynneos (MVA) vaccine to Nigeria, and it is set to be distributed in five of the country’s states, where the most mpox cases have been detected.

    “We are pleased to receive this modest initial donation of the mpox vaccine, which is safe and efficacious,” Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Muhammad Ali Pate, said.

    “We will continue to strengthen surveillance and be vigilant to prevent and control mpox.”

    The MVA vaccine will be given to 5,000 people most at risk of the virus in a two-dose schedule.

    This includes “close contacts of mpox cases and frontline healthcare workers, with a provision for reactive vaccination in other states as the need arises,” according to WHO’s regional office for Africa.

    While waiting for the vaccines to be administered, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, has approved the vaccine’s emergency use.

    “The delivery of the mpox vaccines to Nigeria not only constitutes a crucial addition to the ongoing measures to halt the virus and protect health, but it is also a clear demonstration of international solidarity in the face of global public health emergencies,” Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director of Africa said.

    WHO’s Africa office says “serious gaps in mpox vaccine access” remain in Africa.

    The organisation is working with countries and manufacturers to increase access to the needed vaccines.

    Further, WHO is collaborating with partners including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and others to “enable donations from countries with existing stockpiles.”

    The partners are also developing a “donation scheme” to ensure the limited vaccines are used in areas where it is most needed.

    WHO’s Africa office is assisting the Nigerian Government to improve “surveillance and contact tracing, laboratory capacity, risk communication, and community engagement” as the country has had 786 suspected mpox cases and 39 confirmed cases as of Aug. 10 .

    Health officials are also implementing early case detection and diagnostics, as well as increasing cross-border surveillance, notably at main points of entry throughout the country.

  • Mpox: EU to donate 215,000 doses of vaccines to Africa

    Mpox: EU to donate 215,000 doses of vaccines to Africa

    The European Union has announced it will donate 215,000 doses of vaccines to Africa to combat the ongoing Mpox outbreak on the continent.

     

    According to a statement on Wednesday, the EU said the donation includes 175,420 doses of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) Mpox vaccine, with an additional 40,000 doses contributed directly by the pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic.

     

    The MVA-BN vaccine, a non-replicating smallpox vaccine, is the only Mpox vaccine approved in the EU and is authorized for use in individuals aged 18 and older. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) will oversee the distribution of these vaccines to the affected countries based on regional needs.

     

    In addition to the vaccine donation, the EU’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) is collaborating with Africa CDC to enhance Mpox diagnostics and sequencing capabilities in the region, supported by a €3.5 million grant to be utilized by early autumn.

     

    Stella Kyriakides, the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, emphasized the importance of global collaboration in health emergencies, stating, “Strong global partnerships are at the very core of our European Health Union. Health security threats know no borders and today, thanks to the collaboration between the European Commission, Africa CDC, and Bavarian Nordic, we make 215,000 vaccines available to protect the most vulnerable in countries affected by the outbreak of Mpox in Africa. Preparedness and response to health threats is a global endeavor which we are determined to pursue collectively and with solidarity across borders.”

     

    Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC, expressed gratitude for the swift support, noting, “The donation of over 215,000 doses from Bavarian Nordic is a crucial step in our fight against this crisis. This partnership not only delivers essential vaccines but also underscores our collective commitment to safeguarding health across Africa. It exemplifies the power of international collaboration in addressing public health emergencies. Together, we will strengthen our response efforts and ensure that communities across the continent receive the protection they need.”

     

    The Africa CDC recently declared Mpox a “public health emergency of continental security” as the virus spread across several countries. Since the beginning of the year, over 13,700 cases and 450 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with additional cases in Burundi, Central African Republic, Kenya, and Rwanda.

  • LASG to introduce HPV vaccines Sept. 25

    LASG to introduce HPV vaccines Sept. 25

    The Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCD) says it will introduce the Human Papilomavirus vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in girls from ages 9 to 14 on Sept. 25.

    Mrs Clara Owojuyigbe, the Director of Health Education and Health Promotion Services of LSPHCD, made this known at a media parley in Lagos.

    According to World Health Organisation, cancer of the uterine cervix, commonly known as cervical cancer, is the fourth most common cancer among women globally and the second most common cancer among women in Nigeria.

    Owojuyigbe said the development was to prevent the growing cases of cervical cancer in the country.

    She urged parents to use the opportunity to ensure that their girl child between the ages of 9 and 14 are available for the vaccination in order to prevent them from getting cervical cancer in the future.

    According to her, the immunity of the vaccine, which she called Gardasil, does not wear out over time, only one dose confers life time.

    “I am appealing to parents, religious leaders, and community leaders to bring their children for HPV vaccination from Sept. 25 to Sept. 30.

    “The vaccine is expensive but the government is making it available for pre-teen girls for free,” she said.

    The first phase of the vaccination for pre-teen girls will be carried out in 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    The states are; Lagos, Nassarawa, Kano, Jigawa, Enugu, Abia, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi, Osun and Ogun.

  • Sri Lanka risks rapid spread of rabies as country runs out of vaccines

    Sri Lanka risks rapid spread of rabies as country runs out of vaccines

    Health officials on Wednesday said Rabies might spread rapidly in Sri Lanka in 2023 due to shortages in vaccines.

    Director of Public Health Veterinary Services L.D. Kithsiri told media that there were no vaccines in storage units in Kandy, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Colombo, and Gampaha districts.

    Kithsiri said 28 people had died in 2022 from rabies and out of that, 17 contracted the disease from dog bites.

    “We are carrying out vaccination programmes until February using the remaining vaccines in other regional storage units.

    “There will be no vaccination from February,’’ he said.

    Kithsiri said in 2022, over a million dogs were vaccinated and sterilized adding that 40,000 dogs were female dogs.

    “There is no shortage of vaccines given to humans who are hospitalized but this might change really fast if rabies spreads among dogs.’’

    According to WHO data, Sri Lanka has achieved a successful reduction of human rabies deaths from 377 in the mid-1970s to 31 in 2021 due to its successful vaccination drive.

  • COVID-19 vaccines produced in Nigeria will meet international standards -NAFDAC DG

    COVID-19 vaccines produced in Nigeria will meet international standards -NAFDAC DG

    The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has assured Nigerians that COVID-19 vaccines produced in the country will be of international standard, with the strengthening of the agency.

    Adeyeye gave the assurance during the oversight visit of the House of Representatives Committee on COVID-19 to the NAFDAC facilities and COVID-19 laboratory projects in Lagos.

    According to a statement issued on Sunday by Sayo Akintola, NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Adeyeye described the Federal Government’s huge spending on the fight against COVID-19 as exemplified by the construction of the new COVID-19 laboratory, as a great achievement for the country.

    She said that the laboratory with equipped modern instruments and amenities at the agency was a wake-up call for the country.

    She noted with dismay that the health sector had been neglected before the present administration responded through the COVID-19 Committee of the National Assembly, “particularly the members that are here today’’.

    She said: “To ensure that the health sector is strengthened, NAFDAC must be strengthened, if the regulatory agency is not strengthened, the industry will not be strengthened.

    “We have the African Free trade Agreement already here with us now for the nation’s pharmaceutical industry to take advantage of with quality products.

    “There will be a lot of competition and if NAFDAC’s laboratory is not strengthened, we will not be able to compete.

    ‘’For Vaccines, we are hoping that the vaccine facilities from the public-private partnership will soon happen but if the regulatory agency is not strong, we can make vaccine that will destroy our own people.”

    Adeyeye noted that with the agency now very strong with WHO Maturity Level 3 certification, “Nigeria can now make its own vaccines and we can assure the populace that there is quality in whatever is being manufactured because of NAFDAC’s strength”.

    On the impact that COVID-19 fund had made, she said, “this should resonate well with the whole country that if you put the right people in the right places, then the vision of the government can be realised.

    ‘’Whatever approvals that are being given by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on funding our activities, you can actually touch such and this is what has happened here today.”

    She commended the COVID-19 committee, and the Healthcare Services committee of the Assembly for committing to ensuring that NAFDAC as a regulatory agency is known internationally.

    Speaking, Chairman, House Committee on COVID-19, Haruna Mshelia, commended Adeyeye and her management team for leveraging latest technology to upgrade the agency.

    ‘’We have seen with our eyes how they have leveraged on latest technology to upgrade the organisation to a standard that is next to none in Africa. I think they need to be commended.

    “We have seen the warehouse. We have now seen the laboratory which is under construction. They have gone very far, and the standard of the construction is good.

    ‘’We have also seen the equipment awaiting to be installed in the laboratories. I have to say kudos to the DG and her team for getting good value for money as far as COVID-19 funds for NAFDAC is concerned.

    “Other agencies should come to NAFDAC and learn how they have leveraged ICT to move their organisation forward so that everywhere our standard can be uplifted with everyone seeing it,” Mshelia said.

  • Buhari orders Minister to submit progress report on local vaccines production

    Buhari orders Minister to submit progress report on local vaccines production

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, to submit a progress report by the end of May 2022 on the indigenous production of vaccines in the country.

    The president gave the order on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the leadership of the Nigeria Integrated Biopharmaceuticals Industries Consortium (NIBI), led by Mr Vilarugel Cuyas, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Fredlab.

    Buhari commended the NIBI consortium made up of European biotechnology companies Merck, Unizima, Rommelag and Fredlab, who are collaborating with the Nigerian start-up PIA BioPharma to establish a world-class Bio-Pharma Industrial Complex for the manufacture of vaccines and essential therapeutics in Nigeria.

    According to him, his administration considers food and medicine sufficiency as national security issues.

    The president asked the health minister and his team to work closely with the consortium on the Federal Government support required for the actualisation of the NIBI project within the next few months.

    ‘‘While the Ministry of Health continues to drive collaboration with investors for vaccines, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, in a move towards self-sufficiency, I welcome the NIBI consortium’s desire to partner with the Federal Government in support of our agenda and look forward to the implementation of the NIBI project as it takes shape,’’ the president said.

    Recounting the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Nigeria’s economy and health systems and how some nations with comparative advantages in being centres of bio-pharmaceutical productions adopted a “me-first” attitude towards securing their citizens, Buhari said:

    ‘‘I want Nigeria to make a bold statement in this field not just for reasons mentioned earlier, but because of its knock-on effects on our economy at large.’’

    According to the president, Nigeria has learnt key lessons from the pandemic, including that countries must look inward for sustenance in food and medical supplies.

    He said: ‘‘Having witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our health system, our communal life and national economy, from which we are yet to fully recover, we are reminded that the wealth of a nation is dependent on the health and wellbeing of its citizens.

    ‘‘At the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria was quick to respond to what seemed an existential threat, by strengthening the health system’s capacity to handle the pandemic – an initiative that continues till today in collaboration with the state governments, private sector and international partners.

    “Key lessons of the pandemic are that nations can be brought to their knees by disease outbreaks that cripple national and international trade, and that countries must be able to look inwards for sustenance in food and medical supplies.

    “The benefit of this Administration’s early investment in agriculture came to light during this global turbulence.

    “However, we cannot say the same for essential medicines, health supplies and most importantly vaccines to protect our citizens. Increasing the capacity for in-country production of vaccines and medical supplies has therefore become a matter of not just urgency, but of national security.

    ‘‘As we saw, many nations who had developed comparative advantages in being centres of bio-pharmaceutical productions adopted a “me-first” attitude towards securing their citizens.

    “These actions placed developing nations, particularly those in Africa at severe disadvantage.’’

    The president noted that as part of the fallout and lessons learned from the crises, under his directive, the minister of health had been conducting local and international high-level consultations to seek access to the know-how and finance to revive domestic manufacturing of vaccines.

    He added that the consultations had become more important as Nigeria prepares to fully transition from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) support for the supply of vaccines by 2028.

    ‘‘Since we consider food and medicine sufficiency as national security issues, technical and financial investments and partnerships are priorities in our policy planning, with the assurance that Nigeria has the market and a pool of expert scientists to draw upon, from within and outside the country,’’ he said.

  • Enugu Govt. targets 1.2m children in statewide polio vaccination

    Enugu Govt. targets 1.2m children in statewide polio vaccination

    The Enugu State Government says it is targeting no fewer than 1,200,000 children, between 0 and five years in statewide polio vaccination.

    Dr George Ugwu, Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Sunday.

    Ugwu said the ENS-PHCDA in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), WHO, UNICEF and other stakeholders, would hold January 2022 Mass Polio Vaccination (NIPDs) in Enugu state.

    He said the exercise would hold statewide for four days; thus, between Saturday, Jan. 29 and Tuesday, Feb 1, 2022.

    “This is an immunisation campaign that involves movement of trained and authorised health workers to administer Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) into the mouths of children from 0 and five years of age.

    “Health workers will visit homes, schools, churches, market places, and everywhere children under five years are found in Enugu state to give oral polio vaccine to them.

    “The vaccine protects children from poliomyelitis infection which paralyses or kills such infected children,” he said.

    The executive secretary said that at this period, other scheduled routine immunisation would also be going on in the health centres in all local government areas of Enugu state for children less than two years.

    “Parents and caregivers please take your children under two years with their health cards to health centres nearest to you for other vaccines,” he advised.

    According to him, the vaccines are free, safe and effective. So do well please in protecting your children and loved ones from dangerous diseases by simple and free-of-charge vaccination.

  • FG confesses: Why we accept donation of expiring COVID-19 vaccines

    FG confesses: Why we accept donation of expiring COVID-19 vaccines

    The federal government of Nigeria has explained why the nation accepted Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines with expiring shelf lives from donor countries.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the explanation is contained in a statement released by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire on Wednesday.

    According to the statement, Nigeria has utilized most of the short-shelf-life doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far donated, stressing that the donations saved the country N16.4 billion.

    Dr Ehanire also stated that the vaccines that expired before usage had been withdrawn, and that they will be destroyed accordingly by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

    The Minister of Health, however, noted in the statement that the nation now politely declines all vaccine donations with short shelf life or those that cannot be delivered in time.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Health has been drawn to reports circulating in the media to the effect that some Covid-19 vaccines had expired in Nigeria.

    “This Press statement is to properly brief the public and set records right.

    “Nigeria has, of late enjoyed the generosity of several, mainly European countries, who have offered us doses of Covid-19 vaccines out of their stock piles, free of charge, through COVAX or AVAT facility. These donations are always acknowledged and thankfully received: however, some of them had residual shelf lives of only few months that left us very short time, some just weeks, to use them, after deduction of time to transport, clear, distribute and deliver to users. If such vaccines arrive back-to-back or are many, logistic bottlenecks occasionally arise.

    “We appreciate the kind gesture of donors, but also communicated the chal lenge of short shelf lives, whereupon some manufacturers offered to extend the vaccine shelf life after the fact, by 3 months, a practice that, though accept ed by experts, is declined by the Federal Ministry of Health, because it is not accommodated in our standards. Nigeria does not dispense vaccines with a validity extended beyond labelled expiry date. We continue to adhere to our rigorous standards.

    “Donation of surplus Covid-19 vaccines with expiring shelf lives to Developing Countries has been a matter of international discussion.

    “Developing countries like Nigeria accept them because they close our critical vaccine supply gaps and, being free, save us scarce foreign exchange procure ment cost. This dilemma is not typical to Nigeria, but a situation in which many Low- and medium-income countries find themselves.

    “Donors also recognize a need to give away unused vaccines, before they expire in their own stock, but they need to begin the process early enough and create a well-oiled pathway for prompt shipment and distribution through the COVAX and AVAT facilities, to reduce risk of expiration. With better coordination, vaccines need not expire in the stock of Donors or Recipients.

    “Nigeria has utilized most of the over 10m short-shelf-life doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far supplied to us, in good time, and saved N16.4B or more than $40m in foreign exchange. The vaccines that expired had been withdrawn before then, and will be destroyed accordingly, by NAFDAC

    “The Ministry of Health shares its experience with partners regularly and now politely declines all vaccine donations with short shelf life or those that cannot be delivered in time.

    “The long term measure to prevent such incident is for Nigeria to produce its own vaccines, so that vaccines produced have at least 12 months to expiration. This is why the Federal Ministry of Health is collaborating with stakeholders to fast-track establishment of indigenous vaccine manufacturing capacity. This is a goal we are pursuing with dedication”.

  • White House rejects plans to donate expiring unused COVID-19 vaccines overseas

    White House rejects plans to donate expiring unused COVID-19 vaccines overseas

    Although surplus Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine doses in U.S. states will soon expire, the White House Vaccine Task Force rejected the proposal to donate unused doses to other countries.

    The Washington Post reported that health authorities and hospitals in Southern California’s demand for COVID-19 vaccines decline while the expiration dates of the unused doses are nearing.

    The report says a small group around San Diego put forward a plan to donate thousands of shots to Mexico, where the vaccination campaign was carried out quite slowly with a high infection rate.

    However, the White House task force has blocked such plans and similar efforts by local and state governments to donate leftover vaccines to other countries.

    A white house official said vaccines in the United States are the property of the federal government, not the cities or states in which they are distributed.

    “That means the federal government is liable for their use and donation efforts.”

  • COVID 19: FG calls for equal access to vaccines

    COVID 19: FG calls for equal access to vaccines

    The Federal Government has called for equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and tools, including detection and treatment to address the challenges of the virus in Nigeria.

    The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, made this known during an online media briefing with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    He said Nigeria would continue to suffer the devastating impact of this pandemic if the global inequitable rollout of vaccines was not addressed.

    “Therefore, we call on richer countries to share doses now with us, through existing mechanisms such as COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) managed by the Africa CDC,” Ehanire said.

    He said the major challenges faced by the country were weak health systems and the inequity in distribution or COVID-19 response tools.

    He lauded the recent attention to the distribution of vaccines and urged high income countries to do more to support low-and-middle-income countries.

    Ehanire said Nigeria received over four million AstraZeneca doses from the COVAX facility and the government of India and started deployment early in line with the WHO recommendations for Health workers and vulnerable populations.

    He said the vaccination implementing agency had vast experience from the recently concluded Polio eradication campaign, using ICT tools for a smooth roll out.

    According to him, infrastructure, especially cold chain, and precise distribution plan were ready before the arrival of the vaccines.

    Ehanire said: “We have expended all vaccines, with 126 per cent of target population of just over two million people receiving first dose and 70 per cent receiving two doses.

    “Less than two per cent of target 112 million population has been reached, to reach herd immunity of 70 per cent.

    “Like other countries across the world, Nigeria has continued to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 17 months.”

    Ehanire said Nigeria received the highest priority from the government, with a Presidential Steering Committee leading the multi-sectoral response.

    According to him, the ministry and its agencies such as Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) led the health sector response.

    He, however, said the country had begun to see a pandemic of two tracks where the Delta variant was tearing through unvaccinated populations.

    “We witnessed the unfortunate surge in cases in India a few months ago and a similar surge is now being seen in most African countries.

    “In Nigeria, the Delta variant was first detected two weeks ago, and we have begun to see an increase in the number of new cases,” Ehanire said.

    The minister said the country was grateful to the COVAX Facility led by WHO, CEPI, GAVI and UNICEF, who had so far delivered 3.9 million vaccine doses to Nigeria.

    He said the country was also grateful for the doses it received from the African Union through the Africa Centre for Disease Control.

    “However, there is no doubt that we in Nigeria and most other African countries continue to suffer from the gross inequity in global vaccine access.

    “The most at-risk are health workers, older populations and those with underlying conditions are unprotected in lower income countries, while richer countries are vaccinating those much less at risk and procuring booster shots,” he said.

    Ehanire said the country was grateful for the rapid investments that enabled the development of COVID-19 Vaccines.