Vaccine

Global coronavirus cases exceeded 10 million on Sunday according to a Reuters tally, marking a major milestone in the spread of the respiratory disease that has so far killed almost half a million people in seven months.

Global response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Africa has been remarkable, especially following fears that should the virus take hold, its impact on the continent could be catastrophic.

South Africa, the country with the highest Coronavirus cases in Africa, will roll out the first coronavirus vaccine trial in Africa this week.

Brazil has become the second country in the world to hit one million coronavirus cases after infections soared by 54,000 in one day.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Friday of a “new and dangerous phase” of the coronavirus pandemic with people tiring of lockdowns despite the disease’s accelerating spread.

Africa’s wild polio-free status is set to be determined in August by the Independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC), which is responsible for certifying the eradication of wild poliovirus in the World Health Organisation (WHO) African Region, the UN health agency has said.

Lead Scientist Peter Kremsner, says the first results of a coronavirus vaccine clinical trial conducted by German biopharmaceutical company CureVac will be available within two months.

Nigerian Universities’ Scientists, under the aegis of COVID-19 Research Group, on Friday announced the discovery of a vaccine for the prevention of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Dr Olufunke Oluwole, a pig geneticist at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, has advised pig farmers to immunise the animals against the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) currently ravaging pig farms.

A group of concerned Nigerians, Council of Nigerian Citizens in China, CNCC, has said the Federal Government is not serious about complaints of maltreatment of Nigerians in China.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said the increasing number of new COVID-19 cases may have an overwhelming effect on the nation’s health system.

Thailand is conducting tests on macaque monkeys as it races to produce a cheaper, alternative coronavirus vaccine it hopes will be ready by 2021, a top researcher said Monday.

The coronavirus pandemic is putting tens of millions of children’s lives at risk by disrupting routine vaccination programmes, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF said Friday.

A senior Olympics official has warned that holding the postponed Tokyo Games next year faces “real problems”, with even a vaccine unlikely to stave off the threat of the coronavirus.

The UK government on Thursday pledged to work with the African Union (AU) to curb the spread of coronavirus in African countries through funding and technical expertise.

The World Health Organisation has advised countries that COVID-19 vaccines should be classified as a global public good.

The resolutioms followed the adoption of a motion on notice, moved by Rep. John Chike Okafor (APC, Imo), wherein he noted that “the Yaba Vaccine Production Laboratory Lagos was active in vaccine production for about six decades, between 1940 and 1991, producing large quantities of vaccines against smallpox, rabies and yellow fever for not only Nigeria, but also for neighbouring countries like Cameroon, and other African countries”.

US biotech firm Moderna reported promising early results on Monday from the first clinical tests of an experimental vaccine against the novel coronavirus performed on a small number of volunteers.