Frontpage News (3256)
Immunologist urges AstraZeneca vaccination, says no drug or vaccine is 100% safe
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Professor of immunology, Idris Mohammed, says there is no drug or vaccine that is 100 percent safe. He noted that the Astrazeneca vaccine for COVID-19 is 70 percent safe, and that the opposition to the vaccine is triggered by politics, rather than scientific scrutiny.
Mohammed, who was Gombe task force chairman on coronavirus, stated this on Wednesday during the launch of 71,340 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the state.
OAUTHC Performs Surgery on Boy, 14, With Rare Heart Problem
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The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, has successfully performed surgery on a 14-yearold boy with rare heart problem. The Chief Medical Director of OAUTHC, Prof. Adebayo Adetiloye, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria yesterday.
Adetiloye described the condition of the boy as a very rare one, saying that such an operation had never been carried out, both in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
Concerns over AstraZeneca Vaccine Disrupts Vaccination Campaigns
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The spate of concerns over COVID-19 vaccines and the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, in particular, is fast constituting a threat to vaccination campaign plans globally.
Not less than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, have either suspended or postponed their COVID-19 vaccination campaign plans. The key concerns are the cases of bleeding, blood clots, and low platelet counts among people who received the AstraZeneca shot.
Expect virulent COVID-19 third wave if safety protocols continue being ignored -Virologist
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Renowned virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, warns that Nigerians should be ready for a third wave of COVID-19 if they don’t change their attitude of disregarding safety protocols. Tomori warned that very few percentage of people had developed antibodies to the coronavirus, noting that the implication is that many people would still get infected.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, Tomori, who is the Chairman, Expert Review Committee on COVID-19, said Nigerians had become very complacent and were undermining the dangerous nature of COVID-19.
AstraZeneca vaccine not expected to cause blood clot -Haematology professor
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Head of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Prof. Sulaimon Akanmu says the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 adverse effect is meant to be hemorrhage, and not blood clot.
He noted that scientifically, based on the composition of the vaccine, what should be expected is bleeding complication. He, however, said blood clot, which is being experienced, is a very dangerous medical condition that can lead to death in the absence of immediate medical intervention.
The National Association of Resident Doctors has asked its members to prepare for an indefinite nationwide strike from March 31, 2021. In a new internal memo dated March 18, 2021, titled, ‘Impending Strike Action,’ made available to PUNCH HealthWise, doctors were asked to prepare mentally, socially, and financially for the industrial action.
The strike, according to the notice, is based on the failure of the government to implement certain agreements. The memo read in part, “Recall that at our last ENEC, it was resolved that a two-week timeline for the government to expedite actions on issues brought to it.
With the many controversies surrounding the administration of the Astrazeneca vaccine to protect citizens from the covid-19 disease, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stressed that the benefits of taking the vaccine far outweigh the risks.
This came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) also declared that Astrazeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine should continue to be administered as the benefits outweigh its risks.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has warned Nigerians against getting vaccinated with fake COVID-19 vaccine, and to ensure that the AstraZeneca vaccine administered on them has the original label.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, issued the warning in a statement on Sunday, explaining that the original Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been contracted to Serum Institute of India to produce in mass quantity.
Why some people react strongly to COVID-19 vaccine, according to scientists
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Consultant Family Physician and Head of Department, Family Medicine Department at the University of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Kuranga-Suleiman, says some people will react to COVID-19 vaccines, not necessarily because of a previous infection or because the vaccine is faulty.
He noted that some people react badly to some of the ingredients that were used in vaccine manufacturing simply because they are hypersensitive to the components.
Amarachukwu Allison: Doctor who came in contact with three different viral infections and lived to tell the story
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During the Ebola period of 2014, Dr. Amarachukwu Allison was quarantined as a secondary contact. In November 2019, she was diagnosed with a viral haemorrhagic fever which she was exposed to and had to self-isolate for a week.
Her third quarantine was in February 2020 when she attended to a patient that turned out to be Nigeria’s index COVID-19 case — an Italian man who suddenly took ill after flying in from Milan, Italy, which was undergoing a virulent experience of the coronavirus then.
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Medical experts say patients with varicose veins are more likely to develop a blood clot; and that varicose veins may be an early warning sign of chronic venous disease. Varicose veins are enlarged, swollen, and twisting veins, often appearing blue or dark purple. They happen when faulty valves in the veins allow blood to flow in the wrong direction or to pool.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, a consultant family physician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Dr. Oluwajimi Sodipo, says varicose veins can increase the risk of a blood clot.
Ineligible persons shun phase 1 directives, get COVID-19 vaccination
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There was high turnout for COVID-19 vaccination early Tuesday as residents besieged the Sango-Agege Primary Healthcare Centre, Lagos, for the exercise. PUNCH Healthwise observed that apart from those eligible to benefit from the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise, those who are not eligible were also vaccinated.
Sango-Agege Primary Healthcare Centre is one of the 88 designated COVID-19 vaccination centres spread across the 20 local government areas of Lagos State. Recall that the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had said that the first phase of the ongoing COVID vaccination exercise in the state was strictly for health workers, frontline workers, and essential duty workers.
Nigeria yet to report adverse events from AstraZeneca vaccine –NPHCDA
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The National Primary Health Care Development Agency has not received any official report of serious adverse effects from the 215,277 people who have received the first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. The NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this on the agency’s official Twitter handle @NphcdaNG on Wednesday.
“As you are aware, AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed to all states except Kogi and the first phase of our vaccination focusing on frontline health workers and others on essential duties have begun in earnest,” he said.
‘Mid-aged female COVID-19 survivors risk long-term problems’
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Two UK studies on Wednesday found out that women in their 40s and 50s appear to be more at risk of long-term problems following discharge from hospital after COVID-19. According to the study, many of them are suffering months of persistent symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness and brain fog.
One study found that five months after leaving hospital, COVID-19 patients who were also middle-aged, white, female, and had other health problems such as diabetes, lung or heart disease, tend to be more likely to report long-COVID symptoms.
