Frontpage News (3256)
Only 200 Doctors and 7 Pharmacists Are Attending To 6 Million Borno Residents
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Marte disclosed this at the weekend when he led a delegation to the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, in Abuja. The delegation sought the federal government’s intervention in the state’s healthcare delivery system. 
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, has called for caution against the use of Ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19 even as it declared COVID-19 vaccines are safe for use in Nigeria.
The pharmacists decried that even with the availability of funds and infrastructure Nigeria cannot produce vaccines due to the absence of an effective Pharmacy law in the country. Addressing a press conference on the Rollout of COVID-19 Vaccines in Lagos,
A new study has revealed that the B.1.17 COVID-19 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom last year has a significantly higher death rate. According to a report published by Reuters, the highly infectious variant that has spread around the world is between 30 percent and 100 percent more deadly than other dominant COVID-19 variants.
The study compared death rates among people in Britain infected with the new SARS-CoV-2 variant – known as B.1.1.7 – against those infected with other variants of the COVID-19-causing virus, scientists said that the B.1.1.7 mortality rate was “significantly higher”.
Lagos leads vaccine allocation with 507,000 doses, FCT 219,800, Katsina 160,000
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States on Tuesday started receiving their consignments of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine with Lagos collecting 507,000 doses, Nasarawa, 61,000; Ekiti, 52,960 and Ondo, 75,570.
Officials of the states disclosed these figures to The PUNCH in separate interviews just as one of our correspondents gathered that between 150,000 and 160,000 doses would be given to Katsina State.
Too thin or too fat? You’re at higher risk of severe COVID-19 –CDC
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A new report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that having a very low or very high body mass index (BMI) is a significant risk factor for a more severe COVID-19 infection.
According to the World Health Organisation, BMI is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters.
Lagos to begin COVID-19 vaccine rollout weekend –Sanwo-Olu
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The Lagos State Government says it will start rolling out COVID-19 vaccines by the weekend. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Wednesday when the World Health Organisation Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, paid him a courtesy visit at the State House, Alausa.
In a series of tweets, Sanwo-Olu’s Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, via his Twitter handle @gboyegaakosile said a steering committee set up for the vaccine administration was in its final stage of preparation for the deployment of the vaccine.
No COVID-19 vaccination for under 18, pregnant women —Bauchi govt
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Bauchi State Government says pregnant women, those under 18 years, and people with critical ailments will not receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the state. Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Bauchi on Thursday.
Mohammed said that the exclusion of these categories of people was part of the action plan developed for the exercise in the state. “Pregnant women, under 18 years of age and those with critical ailment will not be given the vaccine.
Brain drain: UK restricts recruitment of doctors, nurses from Nigeria, 46 others
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The United Kingdom has suspended the recruitment of healthcare workers from Nigeria and 46 other countries. The announcement was contained in the updated Code of Practice released by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
According to the UK government, the increasing scale of health and social care worker migration from low and lower-middle-income countries threatens the achievement of their nation’s health and social care goals.
Denmark, Norway, Iceland suspend use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after blood clot reports
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Denmark, Norway, and Iceland on Thursday temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine over concerns about patients developing post-vaccine blood clots, as the manufacturer and Europe’s medicines watchdog insisted the vaccine was safe.
Denmark was first to announce its suspension, “following reports of serious cases of blood clots” among people who had received the vaccine, the country’s Health Authority said in a statement. It stressed the move was precautionary, and that “it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots”.
AstraZeneca vaccine use can continue, pending blood clot probe -EMA
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European countries can keep using AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine during an investigation into cases of blood clots that prompted Denmark, Norway and Iceland to suspend jabs, the EU’s drug regulator said on Thursday.
There had been 30 cases of ‘thromboembolic events’ among five million people who’ve had the jab so far in Europe, the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement.
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Paediatrician warns against use of palm oil as poison antidote
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A Paediatrician, Dr. Ayobola Adebowale, has warned parents against using palm oil as a poison antidote for children. Adebowale, a Senior Registrar, Department of Paediatrics, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos.
She decried the increasing incidents of admission of children in the Intensive Care Units of the hospital after aspirating on palm oil in a bid to induce vomiting after ingesting poisonous substances.
AstraZeneca vaccine is not the most efficacious of all –Tomori
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No fewer than 13 countries in Europe have temporarily suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine following concerns about deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and blood clotting.
A professor of virology, Oyewale Tomori, speaks with DAYO OJERINDE on the suspension of the vaccine in some countries and the growing fears among Nigerians.
The Lagos State Government has released the list of 88 health facilities that have been selected to provide vaccination across the 20 Local Government Areas. The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, In a statement on Tuesday, said vaccination can only be obtained at any of the 88 accredited facilities are listed.
“Vaccination outside of these locations in Lagos State is highly prohibited and will attract heavy sanctions through our regulatory agencies,” he said. The commissioner said the vaccination will be conducted in four phases.
The Association of Resident Doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan on Tuesday commenced a five-day warning strike to protest the non-payment of two months salary arrears. The association says 370 doctors in the hospital have not been paid their salary for two months.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, President of the Resident Doctors in UCH, Dr. Zakariyah Temitope Hussain, said it’s been a tough experience for doctors working without pay. Highlighting some of the demands of the doctors, Hussain said “Some of our doctors have not been paid salaries for January and February 2021.
