₦airaland Forum

French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade & Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester has reiterated his country’s continued commitment to trade and economic ties with Nigeria.
He spoke when he visited one of Nigeria’s leading media conglomerate, AIM Group, in his first official visit to Nigeria.
The visit was also geared towards fostering the intra-cultural relationship between France and Nigeria.
Riester acknowledged the resilient spirit of the new generation of Nigerians, who despite the COVID-19 pandemic, had continued to dominate the music and movie production segment, which has witnessed massive returns, impressive international successes, and global commendations as the cinema and music industry has grown to become an inspiration for other countries.
He reaffirmed the dedication of the French government through its foreign policy in supporting cultural and creative industries in partner countries, through set-up like the “Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects”, which makes it possible to establish sustainable assistance for many cultural projects geared towards creating employment opportunities and economic development.
“The recently held Annecy Lagos Animation Workshop in partnership with the renowned Annecy International Film Festival in France and Animation Nigeria’s association, which will give five Nigerian animation studios the unique opportunity to pitch their works as part of the Nigerian focus during the 2021 edition of the festival as well as the Wazobia Academy which is supported by French partners La FEMIS and LAFAAAC aimed at training 1000 young Nigerian’s professionals to TV series scriptwriting is the evident impact of ongoing projects supported by the French Government in supporting young creatives within Nigeria,” he added.
Co-founder, Wazobia Media, Tatiana Moussalli Nouri expressed gratitude to Riester for the support from the French Government through capacity building initiatives such as collaboration among LAFAAAC, LaFemis and Wazobia Academy, which will impact the growth of the creative industry and further strengthen the ties between Nigeria and France.

(CNN)The United States could have around 300 million excess Covid-19 shots by the end of July, health policy experts at Duke University estimated in a report Thursday, calling on the country to share doses more widely to address the stark inequality around global vaccine distribution.
The US has provided limited shipments of AstraZeneca's vaccine -- which is not yet authorized for use in the United States -- to Mexico and Canada, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said it won't share shots more broadly until the country is "more confident" in its own supplies.
The US is the biggest financial donor to the global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX, but the country has been tight-fisted with the actual vaccines it has in huge supply, while many others have none at all. Three-quarters of the world's vaccines actually administered have been in just 10 nations, which together account for under half the world's population.
"The world's wealthiest nations have locked up much of the near-term supply. At the current rate vaccines are being administered, 92 of the world's poorest countries won't vaccinate 60% of their populations until 2023 or later," wrote Dr. Krishna Udayakumar and Dr. Mark McClellan, health experts at Duke.
The report laid out a three-part plan in which the US should increase funding for COVAX, make excess doses available through the same scheme and create bilateral programs modeled on the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- or PEPFAR -- to provide shots and support to countries in need. It could also provide the support and materials for countries to produce safe and effective vaccines on their own.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, which the US has shared, has been paused in many age groups in Europe after regulators said the vaccine was possibly linked to dozens of rare but serious blood clotting events, some of them fatal. The US suspended use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday after reports of the same rare clotting event in six people. The incidence remains extremely rare, at around one in a million.
Duke University's estimate of 300 million excess doses had assumed the US would use J&J vaccine, but given the pause, their projections may be overstated. But it won't change the big picture, as the J&J shot currently makes up less than 5% of around 190 million shots currently in the US.


The United States should ensure the safety of vaccines first. There have been blood clotting incidents in Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Although the United States has suspended the use of the vaccine, this will prompt people to distrust the vaccine.

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 60 former heads of state, including former leaders of Britain and France, and over 100 Nobel Prize winners called on U.S. President Joe Biden to back a waiver of intellectual property rules for COVID-19 vaccines.
A waiver would boost vaccine manufacturing and speed up the response to the pandemic in poorer countries which otherwise might have to wait years, they said in a joint letter to Biden sent to news organisations on Wednesday.
“President Biden has said that no one is safe until everyone is safe, and now with the G7 ahead there is an unparalleled opportunity to provide the leadership that only the U.S. can provide,” said former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, referring to an upcoming meeting of the world’s wealthiest countries.
The letter asked Biden to back a proposal by South Africa and India at the World Trade Organization to temporarily waive intellectual property rules related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
It said that, based on the current pace of vaccine production, most poor nations will have to wait until at least 2024 to achieve mass COVID-19 immunization.
“New mutations of the virus will continue to cost lives and upend our interconnected global economy until everyone, everywhere has access to a safe and effective vaccine,” said Nobel Economics Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz.
Other signatories included Francois Hollande, Mary Robinson, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Juan Manuel Santos and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - formerly presidents of France, Ireland, Brazil, Colombia and Liberia - and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The letter was coordinated by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a coalition of more than 50 development organizations.

Oil prices rose slightly on Monday on optimism over the pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the United States and after the Yemen-based Houthi movement said it fired missiles on Saudi oil sites.
Crude prices have remained rangebound in the past three weeks, as growing expectations of surging U.S. economic activity are balanced by the slow rate of vaccination in Europe and anticipation of additional supply from Iran in coming months.
Brent rose 0.4% to above $63 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.5% to settle at $59.70 a barrel.
The United States has fully vaccinated 22% of its population, while the United Kingdom has vaccinated 11% fully, according to the Reuters vaccine tracker here. Still, other countries are not faring as well, with France and Germany at around 6% vaccinated.
“Oil prices rose today as a result of progress in vaccination campaigns in the U.S., which are helping the country’s plan to spend,” said Louise Dickson, Rystad Energy’s oil markets analyst. “The upward momentum in other countries is promising, but large discrepancies remain globally.”
Prices also found some support after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at Saudi targets, including towards Saudi Aramco refineries in Jubail and Jeddah.
There was no immediate Saudi confirmation. Saudi Aramco, the state oil firm, did not comment when contacted by Reuters.
“While there are still plenty of reasons to be bullish, market players have become more cautious as infections have surged in Europe, India and some emerging markets, while vaccine rollouts have proved slower than anticipated,” said oil broker PVM’s Stephen Brennock.
India now accounts for one in every six daily coronavirus infections worldwide, and cases are also rising in other parts of Asia.
Asian oil demand remained weak and some buyers have asked for lower volumes in May, partly because of refinery maintenance and higher prices.
The U.S. economy is at an “inflection point” amid expectations that growth and hiring will accelerate in the months ahead, but it faces the risk of reopening too quickly and sparking a resurgence in coronavirus cases, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview on Sunday.

Australia and the Philippines limited use of AstraZeneca‘s COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, while the African Union dropped plans to buy the shot amid global shortages, dealing further blows to the company’s hopes to deliver a vaccine for the world.
The vaccine – developed with Oxford University and considered a frontrunner in the global vaccine race – has been plagued by safety concerns and supply problems since Phase III trial results were published in December, with Indonesia the latest country forced to seek doses from other drugmakers.
The Philippines suspended the use of AstraZeneca shots for people under age 60 after Europe’s regulator said on Wednesday it found rare cases of blood clots among some adult recipients, although it still believes that the vaccine’s benefits outweighed its risks.
Australia recommended people under 50 should get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in preference to AstraZeneca‘s, a policy shift it warned would hold up its inoculation campaign.
AstraZeneca‘s shot is sold at cost, for a few dollars a dose. It is by far the cheapest and most high-volume launched so far, and has none of the extreme refrigeration requirements of some other COVID-19 vaccines, making it likely to be the mainstay of many inoculation programmes in the developing world.
But more than a dozen countries have at one time suspended or partially suspended use of the shot, first on concerns about efficacy in older people, and now on worries about rare dangerous side effects in younger people.
That, coupled with production setbacks, will delay the rollout of vaccines across the globe as governments scramble to find alternatives to tame the pandemic that has killed more than 3 million.

The Nigerian government has explained its directive to states to put COVID-19 vaccination on hold once they used half of the doses allocated to them.
Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, addressed the media at Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday.
The official explained there was no confirmation yet on the timeframe for delivery of second batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
He said it was important that those who already received their first jab complete their vaccination.
“In a situation where we still cannot determine when the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive, it is better for us to vaccinate people fully.”
The minister reminded Nigerians that two doses of the vaccination must be taken, in line with global protocols.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) clarified that AstraZeneca vaccine and Johnson & Johnson vaccine could not be taken by the same individual.
The NPHCDA Chief Executive Officer, Faisal Shuaib, warned Nigerians that different jabs could cause serious negative effects.
“You cannot take the AstraZeneca on your left and Johnson & Johnson on the right. Both have to be doses of AstraZeneca”, Shuaib said.

This is probably a very happy thing. Vaccination has guaranteed our lives, especially the protection of children.

Los Angeles school officials are particularly focused on safety issues and are preparing for the reopening of the campus next week. Practical preparations have begun-announcing plans to open 25 community vaccination centers and urging all returning families to sign their students to make mandatory Coronavirus testing plan.

Shortage of COVID-19 vaccines has raised the stakes for persons who desperately want it, particularly for travel purposes. This has raised fears of fakery by elements in China as well as hoarding and extortion by local officials.
The latest reports from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) indicate that just over 718,412 Nigerians and foreigners alike have received the first dose of COVID-19-vaccine. This figure is largely insignificant, compared to the challenge of quickly vaccinating 70 per cent of the 200-million strong population to achieve herd immunity.
The situation has raised questions regarding what is delaying the remainder of the 3.9 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines from being administered one month after delivery? How many states have exhausted their shares and what are the challenges for states that are yet to exhaust their shares? When is the second dose due for those who have received their first jabs, having regard to the standard medical duration between the first dose and second dose? When are the next batches of vaccines arriving?
The Guardian investigation revealed that delay in the arrival of the second dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is unavoidable because COVAX facility has notified Nigeria and other participating economies on delays for vaccines from Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca.
COVAX is co-led by Global Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and World Health Organisation (WHO). Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.


COVID-19 is a killer disease; only the vaccines stand a chance of truly and finally stopping the infection/disease. it would therefore be unethical and inhuman for anyone in his right senses to hoard or try to sell vaccines meant to be given free to his/fellow human beings, for mere pecuniary gains.

Athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic trials can protest, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Tuesday, including kneeling or raising a clenched fist on the podium or at the start line during the national anthem. 
In a detailed document, the USOPC outlined a wide range of ways athletes can advocate for racial and social justice but drew the line at what will be unacceptable, including wearing a hat or face mask with a hate symbol or hate speech on it. 
In an open letter sent to Team USA athletes, USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said the organization "values the voices of athletes and believes that their right to advocate for racial and social justice as a positive force for change aligns with the fundamental values of equality that define Team USA and the Olympic and Paralympic movements." 
The USOPC made it clear that the guidelines are only meant for the U.S. Olympic trials and not the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to open on July 23. 
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has its own guidelines with Rule 50 prohibiting protests and demonstrations. 
The USOPC said guidance for the Tokyo Games will be published separately in the coming months once the IOC issues its updated policies. 
Current IOC rules say, "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas." 
The relaxing of rules is an about face for the USOPC which sanctioned two athletes for protesting police brutality and racial injustice during medal presentations at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima. 
Fencer Race Imboden knelt during the national anthem while hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised her fist. The USOPC later placed both athletes on 12-month probations. 
Under new guidelines, these demonstrations will be acceptable. 
Athletes will also be allowed to wear a hat or mask with messages such as "Black Lives Matter" or "equality" or "justice" and use their voices outside trials venues in other forums such as social media and the press.

Wen you follow wetin dey happun you go don observe pipo reaction since dem begin take di Astrazeneca Covid 19 vaccine - some of di reactions go make you laugh while odas go make you ask questions about di vaccine.Di reactions of some individuals wey don take di Astrazenecca jab wey Nigeria Federal moment bring dey make some pipo reason am weda make dem take am or not.
WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,PRESIDENCY
Na Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and im Vice, Yemi Osinbajo first collect di Covid 19 vaccine for Nigeria.
Dis one happen one day after frontline health workers collect dia own vaccine.Di President and im Vice collect dia vaccine for Aso Rock and dem show am live for television.
WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,NPHCDA
In fact dis na di period wey some pipo for di country dey hala sey dem no go fit collect di Astrazeneca vaccine wey Federal goment bring. But toktok person for President, Garba Shehu say make Nigerians no dey think bad things. Im tok say after di President take di vaccine for im shoulder di President don get more confidence, "since after Presido collect di vaccine im never get any reaction, instead di vaccine is working well."
How Otedola bridge fire destroy vehicles today again for Lagos
Dis na Police officer for Oyo State wey dey squeeze face as dem dey give am so Atrazeneka vaccine.
WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,NPHCDA
If you look dis photo well well you go see di Police officer as she dey smile dey take di vaccine and di officer wey dey behind am dey look am with pity.
DIS FOTO COME FROM,NPHCDA
Dat na di Commissioner for Works for Niger State wey dey act drama as dem dey knack am her own Covid 19 vaccine.

Dat na 72 year old woman for Port Harcourt wey dey collect her own vaccine and she tell tori pipo say, "I dey happy well well day I don collect my own vaccine wey Nigeria Federal goment carry come. Our pipo no go die again".
WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,CRSPHCDA
But another thing wey dey surprising be say we no know which one dey pain pass whether na di vaccine itself or di long swab wey dem dey take do test for Covid 19.
One Oga Ahmed wey don carry all im family members go do Covid 19 test tok to BBC about im experience.
"Make I no lie, di experience to test for Covid 19 no easy at all as dem go insert di swan inside your nose to collect sample. If your mind no strong you no go fit do dat test," Ahmed tok.
WIA DIS FOTO COME FROM,NPHCDA
Dis reaction of pipo wey dey collect Covid 19 vaccine no be for Nigeria alone.Dis picture na day of one Indian woman wey dey also strong her face and body just to collect di Covid 19 vaccine.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has insisted that Nigeria’s development plans must promote economic flexibility for all and be flexible enough to absorb shocks and adapt swiftly to changing domestic and international conditions.
Osinbajo spoke yesterday in a keynote address he delivered virtually at the 19th meeting of the National Council on Development Planning themed, ‘National Development Planning in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges’.
He said: “It is generally agreed that the primary purpose of planning in our economy is to accelerate growth and development outcomes that will improve the lives of Nigerians.
“To be meaningful, our planning processes must lead to tangible outcomes in the form of growth that exceeds population growth. Indeed, our plans must bring about an economy and society that works for all Nigerians.”
Referencing the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes (SIPs) as an example of deliberate efforts aimed at ensuring inclusive growth, the Vice President said that an aspect of national planning that was often overlooked was how to manage distributional outcomes in a rapidly changing economic environment.
“This point is readily understood if we recall that the strength of feelings on issues like the national minimum wage or indeed the deregulation of PMS prices is related to their expected impact on the poor segments of society.
“It is accordingly important when drawing up national plans to take account of the interests of the more vulnerable members of society. This is why social investment and social protection are at the heart of the Buhari Administration’s policy interventions.
“Indeed, top of mind for Mr. President is how to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in this decade as we radically re-engineer the productive base of our economy in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and the digital and creative sectors,” the Vice President explained.
Summarising the core targets for the country, Osinbajo emphasised that, “our development plans must be inclusive and promote economic diversification.”
He added: “They must promote coordination among the various tiers of government as well as coordination between ministries, departments and agencies at all levels.
“Our plans must also be modern and ambitious and yet realistic and flexible enough to absorb shocks and adapt to swiftly changing domestic and international conditions.
“Our plans must accelerate domestic resource mobilisation and build capacities for planning, implementation and must create the best possible environment for the private sector to invest and operate.
“At the core of thinking in our planning must be the aggressive incremental eradication of poverty and the creation of wealth and good-paying jobs. Our planning must be capable of meeting the aspirations and opportunities for a huge and growing youth population.”
The Vice President also tasked stakeholders to work to overcome challenges of implementation and coordination in the execution of the development plans, noting: “Implementation remains the Achilles Heels of our planning efforts. And another make or break issue for planning is coordination.”
Participants at the meeting included the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of the FCT, Alhaji Mohammed Bello; the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clem Agba and Commissioners for Budget and Economic Planning from the 36 states of the federation, among others.

The emergence of Covid-19 variants makes reopening efforts in the United States a riskier proposition, an infectious disease expert said Wednesday.
Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the B.1.1.7 variant has resulted in increased transmission in countries with vaccination efforts similar to the United States.
"Our only hope right now is that we as a country take this seriously and do whatever we can to limit transmission, as these other countries tried to do," he said during an event hosted by Axios.
"And, yet, at the same time I sit here and tell you we've never been more open as a country since the very first days of the pandemic."
Osterholm said efforts to reopen schools are "frustrating," as are recent guidelines that schools can maintain three feet of social distance as opposed to six feet.
"The transmission dynamics are going to change, and it won't be quite the same way that it was." Osterholm said. "We don't seem to care, in the sense that we're opening up everything at local, state, and even federal levels."
More governors relax restrictions
Since the start of the month, at least a dozen state leaders have eased Covid-19 restrictions.
On Tuesday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that starting April 6, the state's face-covering mandate will become a state mask advisory. Masks will remain mandatory in state buildings and facilities as well as at Covid-19 testing and vaccination sites, the governor said.
Also starting April 6, decisions about venue capacity will be in the hands of local officials, Holcomb said, and customers in restaurants, bars and nightclubs will no longer be required to be seated. Six feet of spacing between tables is still recommended, he added.
In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that starting April 1, both indoor and outdoor gathering limits will increase and certain sports and entertainment venues will be able to operate with additional capacity.
Vaccination pace doubled in less than two months
In less than two months, the pace of vaccination in the US has doubled.
Almost 130.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered, according to data published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reported that 130,473,853 total doses have been administered -- about 77% of the 169,223,125 doses delivered.
That's nearly 2.3 million more doses reported administered since Tuesday, for a seven-day average of about 2.5 million doses per day.
A month ago, the seven-day average was about 1.5 million doses per day, according to a CNN analysis of CDC data. On January 29, the seven-day average was 1,253,815 doses per day.
Vaccine eligibility across the US
Nearly 26% of the population -- almost 85.5 million people -- has received at least one dose of vaccine, and 14% of the population -- more than 46 million people -- are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows. A third of adults and about 70% of seniors have received at least one dose.

Although Nigeria made serious efforts to procure doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for the inoculation of citizens against the dreaded disease, their indications that unless the country embarks on serious sensitisation campaigns, a good percentage of the population would not be vaccinated. This is because many Nigerians appear not to be well informed about the exercise and have decided not to partake in it.
Findings by The Guardian across the states showed that some Nigerians still strongly hold that COVID-19 is a scam; hence there is no need for any vaccination against the virus. Many others rejected the vaccine out of fear. To this category of people, taking the vaccine amounts to a huge risk especially as many European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, and Denmark, among others, had suspended its use pending a review of its safety by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Although the EMA last Thursday declared that the vaccine was “safe and effective” and its benefits outweighed its risks, it is not clear yet whether people in this category would change their minds.

Informed that the COVID-19 Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines have now been delivered to every state in the country except one, the National Economic Council (NEC) rose from its monthly meeting today urging Nigerians to participate in the vaccination when it is their turn.
NEC also welcomed the integration of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to support the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on vaccine accountability and transparency.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN who chaired the meeting, commended the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for smooth coordination of the nation-wide distribution of the vaccines.
State Governors, FCT Minister, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, other ministers, and heads of government agencies and parastatals, participated in the virtual meeting.
Making a presentation to Council, the NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr Fiasal Shuaib, “all States except Kogi have received their Vaccines, noting that Kogi State was yet to receive due to the non-repair of their Cold-Chain Store coupled with the State’s concerns around the contradictory information about the vaccines.”
“The vaccination application has been launched in most States’ Treatment Centres even against distractions and criticism of the FG’s efforts to ensure availability of vaccines in the Nation. The roll-out of the vaccines across Healthcare Front-line Workers and other Health Support Staff was scheduled to commence by March 15, 2021, in some States, with the intention of wider coverage after the training of the States’ Health workers across board.”
To ensure accountability in the distribution of the vaccines, Dr Faisal informed NEC that “the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had been co-opted to support the PTF on Vaccine Accountability to ensure the safekeeping of the vaccines.”
He added that “there was a need for tight security around the Vaccines in the States to avoid being vandalized by hoodlums. Meanwhile, there was a plan to commence weekly record of a dashboard showing level and efficacy of the inoculation by the end of Monday, March 15, 2021.”
He also assured that the second tranche of the Vaccines would be received in the country before the second dose of the Vaccines intake is concluded.
Council also received an update from the National Economic Council (NEC) ad hoc committee interfacing with the presidential taskforce on COVID 19 to ease the lockdown of the economy by the Chairman of the Committee Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor Delta State, and the Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu.
On the implementation of broadband access in the country, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Ali Isa Pantami sought the support of NEC in the formulation and implementation of policies that will ease broadband penetration in Nigeria.
He said: “All States should support us by adhering to the N145 Right Of Way (ROW) charge per linear meter. The long-term benefits are far more than the initial fees being collected.”
Before the NEC consensus to peg the ROW charge at N145, there were instances the fees varied between N5000 – N10,000.
“We need a Point of Contact in each State as the interface on broadband and digital economy issues, and each State is also encouraged to have an institution or department to handle requests regarding broadband and the digital economy”
Highlighting some of the benefits derivable in increasing broadband access in the country, the minister noted that “the World Economic Forum predicts that over 60% of global GDP will be digitized by 2022 and that within the next decade, digital platforms will be used to create close to 70% of new value.”
Pantami added that “the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector recorded the highest growth rate of all the sectors of the Nigerian economy in both the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020) and the entire year 2020. This was based on the Q4 2020 Report on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released.”
Further highlighting the achievements in the ICT sector, the Minister disclosed that “the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector recorded the highest growth rate of all the sectors of the Nigerian economy in both the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020) and the entire year 2020. This was based on the Q4 2020 Report on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released.”

The first vaccine deliveries by the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) facility to Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast brought a glimmer of hope to African countries keen to start immunising their populations against the disease. But while Covax is ramping up deliveries, its mission to provide rapid, fair, and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines to people everywhere is being threatened by rich countries ordering more than they need. This worrying global imbalance in vaccine distribution could hold back Africa’s recovery and prolong the pandemic worldwide.
Covax is the world’s best opportunity to avoid this scenario. Never before has the entire global population simultaneously needed a vaccine against the same disease, and Covax is enabling remarkable collaboration to meet the challenge, bringing together governments, global health organisations, the private sector, scientists, and many other partners to develop, manufacture, and deliver vaccines.
We will ultimately measure the success of this unprecedented undertaking over several years, if not decades. But Covax is already on track to deliver two billion Covid-19 vaccine doses to countries of all income levels in 2021, and has the world’s most diverse and actively managed vaccine research-and-development portfolio. The goal is to ensure that the most vulnerable populations receive Covid-19 vaccines by the end of this year.
And yet developing countries must compete with wealthy countries, some of which have ordered sufficient vaccine supplies to vaccinate their populations several times over. The African Union (AU), by contrast, has ordered vaccines for only 38 per cent of the continent’s population, and even if countries want more, supplies are not immediately available. Some even fear that vaccine manufacturers may be focusing on fulfilling bilateral agreements with wealthy countries, instead of delivering doses to Covax.
Fears about lagging vaccine supplies may be contributing to African authorities’ efforts to source vaccines elsewhere. The AU has set up the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), a platform for African countries to preorder and purchase vaccines. Russia has offered 300 million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine for purchase through AVATT, but it is unclear when such doses might be delivered, or at what price. Meanwhile, some governments are pursuing bilateral arrangements. South Africa has paid $5.25 per dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, more than double the price that European countries are paying. Zimbabwe is using the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, and Nigeria’s health authorities have announced that they are in discussions with Russia and India to procure vaccines.
Although the costs of many of these bilateral deals are unclear, they are happening outside of Covax, which is committed to negotiating the most affordable price for the vaccines it procures.
Covax can succeed as a central mechanism for ensuring equitable vaccine access, but not if countries pursue their own interests or are forced to procure doses in other ways. Some countries appear to be using their vaccines to advance political ends. While the AU has shown leadership by establishing AVATT, it should continue to coordinate with Covax to avoid duplicating or undermining collective efforts.
At the same time, Covax itself should focus on supplying higher volumes to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including African countries. Currently, the scheme aims to provide vaccine doses to at least 20 per cent of these countries’ populations by the end of 2021, which is lower than many African governments would like. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set a target of vaccinating 35 per cent of Africa’s population this year, and eventually at least 60 per cent, which is consistent with the goals of higher-income countries.
Covax ultimately aims to supply LMICs with as many as 1.8 billion doses in 2021, contingent on funding and supplies. African governments should therefore align their efforts with Covax to ensure that these goals are met. This would offer the best prospect of ending the pandemic as quickly as possible, while ensuring transparency and rigour regarding vaccine safety.
Ultimately, Covax’s purpose is to enable equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Making Africa wait is unfair and unwise. Although overall case numbers are much higher in Europe and the US, Africa’s need to protect frontline workers and other vulnerable groups is no less urgent. The longer it takes to vaccinate the region’s population, the greater the risk that new coronavirus variants will emerge that can again threaten the world.
Many countries understandably regard their own citizens’ health and economic welfare as the top priority. But no one will be safe from Covid-19 until we all are. Covax remains our best tool for expanding vaccine protection, and rich- and poor-country governments alike must support it.

We should pay attention to the infection of the pandemic. The number of people infected is a terrible number.The government should strengthen its work to avoid another outbreak of the epidemic.

Ever since the coronavirus reached the U.S., officials and citizens alike have gauged the severity of the spread by tracking one measure in particular: How many new cases are confirmed through testing each day. However, it has been clear all along that this number is an understatement because of testing shortfalls.
Now a research team at Columbia University has built a mathematical model that gives a much more complete — and scary — picture of how much virus is circulating in our communities.
It estimates how many people are never counted because they never get tested. And it answers a second question that is arguably even more crucial — but that until now has not been reliably estimated: On any given day, what is the total number of people who are actively infectious? This includes those who may have been infected on previous days but are still shedding virus and capable of spreading disease.
The model's conclusion: On any given day, the actual number of active cases — people who are newly infected or still infectious — is likely 10 times that day's official number of reported cases.
The model has not been published or peer-reviewed yet, but lead researcher, Jeffrey Shaman, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia University, shared the data exclusively with NPR. Here are more of the startling takeaways.

About fourteen COVID-19 herbal medicine have been listed for use in country by the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
According to NAFDAC , the medicines are now safe for consumption but how efficacious they are is to be ascertained when they undergo clinical trials.
Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed this Thursday in Abuja after receiving a jab of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, observed that NAFDAC conducted diligent study on the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine and confirmed that it’s safe and efficacious for use against COVID-19 virus.
“We have approved about 14 COVID-19 herbal medicine for listing, meaning they are now safe for consumption but how efficacious they are is when they undergo clinical trials,” Adeyeye said.
“The government has arranged for research and development scheme for the health and we have a number of herbal medicines that are going to be used for clinical trials. But I will not be surprised if we herbal medicine that has antiviral against COVID-19,”.
Adeyeye noted that Nigeria will be getting more supply of AstraZeneca and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines soon, adding that the 14 medicines approved for listing, will now proceed to the next of clinical trials.
On why the agency granted accelerated approval for the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Adeyeye explained that from the record of the clinical trials conducted by the manufacturers and the analysis done by the agency, it’s benefits outweigh the side affects.
On the concerns about the side affects, the NAFDAC boss stated that only few persons showed some allergy after taking the AstraZeneca vaccine.
She however said that it is advisable that anyone who gets the vaccine jab should wait for 45 minutes for doctors observation before leaving the clinic.
Adeyeye said that from all indications, AstraZeneca vaccine is generally safe for use.
As for when the country will get the Johnson and Johnson vaccines, Adeyeye said that COVID-19 vaccinnes is scarce at the moment due to the fact that rich countries have ordered most of the available doses.

This, he believes, plays into a global trend where the traceability of products in the supply chain is becoming increasingly important for food- and agri-businesses. Consumers are demanding to know exactly where the products they buy originate. “Consumers in many parts of the world require verifiable evidence of traceability as an important criterion of food product quality and safety.”
AgroEknor’s key focus is hibiscus, a flower currently in high demand for processing into tea as well as an ingredient in various wellness products in its powdered form.
The plan is to be the dominant hibiscus exporter from Nigeria, says Oke. “There is a market demand we cannot meet, we have a supply deficit. Hibiscus has been identified as an organic antioxidant and, in the past year especially, with the impact of Covid-19 and people becoming more health-conscious, we have had multinationals reaching out to us to supply.”
The company’s hibiscus flowers are sourced mainly from smallholder farmers across Nigeria. Oke explains exporters have to align themselves with the trend of traceability, which means they have to get involved in the supply chain.
When AgroEknor started trading in 2012, the company fulfilled its first orders with hibiscus from aggregators that gather the crops from smallholder farmers and then sell to clients for processing or export.
“We found out that when you buy from aggregators, you have little control over your sourcing price because, in the end, aggregators are in it for the business as well. They want to make as much money as possible,” says Oke.
He realised supply security with more control would be important for success and, by the third year, AkgroEknor had its first trial planting with a small group of outgrower farmers in Jigawa state in northern Nigeria. “We provided finance for them to grow the flowers. We were one of the first exporters that had an investment in farming.”
This outgrower scheme has grown to a network of over 2,000 farmers and the company is currently in discussion with two other state governments to grow hibiscus on the same model. Eventually, the aim is to create a network of around 5,500 outgrowers in each of the three states.
“A lot of those farmers are already hibiscus farmers, we just want to put them under our scheme,” Oke adds.
The company believes in the importance of investing in this source network for growth. It has provided training for over 3,000 farmers in agricultural processing and has arranged upwards of $500,000 in credit capital to 1,626 of the smallholder farmers in its network.
The investment has paid off, says Oke. The company’s annual export volumes have grown to over 2,000 tonnes.
Establishing the relationships with smallholder farmers in the beginning was crucial, reveals Oke. As their first partner farmers were from the north, AgroEknor worked within the cultural nuances of a very diverse country by having Oke’s partner – who hails from that state – make the initial introductions.

The Nigerian government on Monday said it has started distributing the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to various states across the country.
The Executive Director of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, made this known at the weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
He said adequate provision had been made to deploy the vaccines to all states and vaccination sites where people would be vaccinated according to set priorities, beginning with the health workers and other support staff.
“All things being equal, the delivery of the vaccines will be completed tomorrow,” Mr Shuaib said.
He explained that the delivery of the vaccines to the states is predicated on satisfactorily meeting the conditions to keep them safe and potent.
“We are designating Vaccine Accountability Officers in the states and LGAs to closely monitor the management and utilisation of the vaccines.”
He said state launch of the COVID-19 vaccination for health workers is slated for March 9 at the state treatment centres, barring any prevailing local conditions.
“Most governors have agreed to flag off on March 10 while the statewide rollout of COVID-19 vaccine will commence from the 12 of March,” he said.
Nigeria on Friday commenced the vaccination of its citizens against COVID-19, beginning with healthcare workers.
About four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines were delivered to Nigeria through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Assess Facility (COVAX) on Tuesday.
Cyprian Ngong, a medical doctor, became the first person to receive a jab of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines in Nigeria. Three other health workers also received jabs during the flag-off event.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received jabs of the COVID-19 vaccines on Saturday to drive vaccine acceptance.
Members of the PTF also received jabs of the vaccines on Monday.
A report published by the Punch newspapers on Friday had disclosed that the government earmarked N10.6 billion to transport COVID-19 vaccines to the 36 states and the 774 Local Government Areas as well as the Federal Capital Territory and its five area councils. That amount, if true, would be considered highly inflated in a country battling with official corruption.

MINISTER of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Thursday debunked the insinuation that Nigeria was relying on ‘charity’ to vaccinate the population against COVID-19. Dr. Ehanire also made clarifications on Nigeria’s plan to achieve safe and efficacious vaccination of citizens during the second edition of State House weekly ministerial briefing, held in Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Minister said Nigeria joined other 52 African countries to open an account with Afreximbank, with the purpose of procuring 570 million doses of vaccines for the continent, out of which the country is expecting to receive between 80 and 85 million doses of the vaccine. According to him, “Now, we are looking to immunise 70% in order to have what is known as herd immunity and the African Union, the African Centre for diysease Control recognise that immediately and went to the president of the African Union and said we must set up something to support ourselves as a country because if every country goes to order, Gambia goes, Guinea Bissau says I want this, you have a lot of confusion, they may not listen to you because your order is too small. “So therefore, if we all come together, as an African country, we can make order. So 52 countries in Africa came together. Equatorial Guinea, Seychelles and Gabon said, don’t worry, we can make our own arrangements. Out of 55, 52 came together and joined in the AVATT – Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, to make a bulk order. “The first bulk order they made was for 270 million doses, which immediately will impress any manufacturer. So the manufacturers are impressed and they are ready to produce that vaccine with as much priority as possible. Now, in order that we are not looking for money here and there, the Afreximbank said, we shall bankroll it, and then you pay us back so that you are not scrambling looking for money, but those who have money immediately can pay. If you don’t have immediately you can pay over five, seven years. So that’s a continental agreement and the purpose of it is that you also want your neighbours to be free. “If we (Nigerians) are fully well vaccinated, Benin Republic, Togo, Niger are not, we are still not quite safe because there’s free movement among all these countries, so it’s in our interest to also see that all these countries are on the same page. “That’s why the West Africa Health Organisation is also pursuing the same initiative as the African Union and for that we are paying, we have opened an account with Afreximbank, the headquarter of Afreximbank is in Cairo and the account signatories are from both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance. “At this point, any organisation that wants to support can pay into that account. We have already spoken with the private sector that if you want to support us, even if you’re looking for vaccines, instead of you going to purchase your own from sources that are not very clear, it can be guaranteed through this account. “The 270 million doses we had before has been increased last week by another 300 million. So we have 570 million doses potentially, on that account of AVATT and that’s very good, it will probably grow even beyond that and they are offering four types of vaccines. They are offering Sputnik, of they are offering Johnson and Johnson they are offering AstraZeneca they are offering Pfizer Biontech.

March 03, 2021: After Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria received around 3.94 million Covid-19 vaccines and 1.7 million for Democratic Republic of Congo from COVAX, an initiative led by Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) with UNICEF as implementing partner.
An Emirates flight carried the shipment to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. It had Oxford/AstraZenica doses, the UN and Nigeria's health agency added. While vaccines touched Kinshasa through a Turkish Cargo flight.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India that arrived in Nigeria are the first of 16 million doses that Covax plans to deliver over the coming months to the country of 200 million people.
The Nigerian government said it hoped to vaccinate at least 70 percent of its adult population over the next two years.
Last week, Ghana and Ivory Coast received vaccines from COVAX.
I also hope that within two years, our country will be able to vaccinate 70% of the population. Now COVID-19 has become an infectious disease that "cannot go away" and can only rely on self-protection and vaccination to fight this epidemic. At the same time, I also hope that people in more severely infected countries can be vaccinated, and the world can return to normal as soon as possible!

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria launched on online registration portal for COVID-19 vaccinations, its primary healthcare agency said on Monday, the day before the first doses are expected to arrive for its 200 million people.
Osindeinde Ademilayo Abodede, a healthcare worker, was the first to register for the vaccine, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said in a Tweet on Monday. Her appointment was scheduled for March 12 in Abuja.
“Our goal is to introduce COVID-19 vaccine in a phased and equitable manner...ultimately vaccinating all eligible Nigerians within the next two years, to ensure herd immunity,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said in a statement posted to Twitter.
Nigeria is expecting 3.92 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to land on Tuesday. It will be the third West African country to take delivery under the COVAX scheme, after Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Over the coming months, Nigeria expects 16 million doses from COVAX, a facility for poor and middle-income countries co-led by Gavi, the vaccine alliance, and the World Health Organization, with UNICEF as an implementing partner.
NPHCDA said in addition to healthcare workers, it will prioritize other “frontline workers” including the military, police, Nigerians at border posts, oil and gas workers and “strategic leaders.”
NPHCDA said that it is taking a multifaceted approach to the vaccine rollout, which would include a “traditional campaign,” and house-to-house electronic registration in addition to the online portal.
Nigeria aims to inoculate 40% of its population this year and 30% more in 2022. As of Monday, it had recorded 155,657 confirmed cases and 1,907 deaths.

The cost of repairing damages from the attack on the U.S. Capitol and related security expenses have already topped $30 million and will keep rising, Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton told lawmakers on Wednesday.
The events of Jan. 6, he said, were "difficult for the American people and extremely hard for all of us on campus to witness."
Blanton said that congressional appropriations committees have already approved a transfer request of $30 million to pay for expenses and extend a temporary perimeter fencing contract through March 31.
But more money will be needed, he added: "History teaches us that project costs for replacements and repairs beyond in-kind improvements across campus will be considerable and beyond the scope of the current budgetary environment."
The price tag will go even higher, Blanton told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee, if the fence and other security measures are needed beyond March.
In his prepared testimony, Blanton described how his employees tried to minimize the threat to the Capitol and lawmakers on Jan. 6, when thousands of former President Donald Trump's supporters breached security perimeters at the Capitol grounds. Many of them then engaged in a pitched battle with police and security personnel.
"[Architect of the Capitol] employees sheltered congressional staff in their shops to protect them from the roving mob," Blanton said, adding, "Other members of our team raced to the roof to reverse the airflows within the building to help clear the air of chemical irritants, like bear repellents and pepper spray, while more team members rushed bottles of water and eyewash stations to Capitol Police officers in need of assistance."
When the mob thronged the Capitol, the Architect of the Capitol's painters and artisans were laboring to complete the massive task of readying the campus to host a presidential inauguration.
"Over the course of a couple of hours, the hard work of our team was destroyed," Blanton said.
"The [inauguration] platform was wrecked. There was broken glass and other debris. Sound systems and photography equipment was damaged beyond repair or stolen. Two historic Olmsted lanterns were ripped from the ground, and the wet blue paint was tracked all over the historic stone balustrades and Capitol building hallways."
In the Capitol building complex, historical statues, murals and furniture were damaged, mainly from pepper spray accretions and residue from chemical irritants and fire extinguishers, requiring expert cleaning and conservation. Work crews covered gaping holes with plywood and cleared "a small mountain of debris left behind on the west and east fronts," Blanton said.
Blanton also said many lawmakers have asked his office about preserving mementos from the unprecedented violence wrought by U.S. citizens on their own Capitol. While most damaged items had to be removed because of safety concerns, he said his staff preserved the panels of the historical Columbus Doors on the east front "for a potential presentation or display."
The brief insurrection brought catastrophe to what had already been a very busy tenure for Blanton, who was sworn in to his job in January 2020. Since then, the Capitol has hosted three lying-in-state or in-honor ceremonies, including for U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after being injured in the riot.
The high-profile events have come as Blanton and his staff have worked to mitigate coronavirus risks through enhanced cleaning practices and providing protective equipment.
On Wednesday, Blanton said many people on his staff have not yet been vaccinated, despite continuing to work at the Capitol campus — work that has included the intense effort to repair damage from the riot and hold an inauguration.

Maryland expects to receive shipments of the yet-to-be cleared Johnson & Johnson vaccine as soon as next week, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday.
Hogan said the federal government notified states that allocations of the single-dose shot, which is being manufactured in Baltimore, could be delivered soon, a development that could help a vaccination effort beset by crushing demand and limited doses in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Hogan said that states were awaiting additional information from the federal government on the size and timing of allotments but that 2 million doses could be shipped nationwide starting next week. He said the federal government has told states that it expects the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration as early as Friday.
Maryland has been receiving about 2 percent of the nation’s supply, Hogan said, which would amount to an additional 4,000 doses next week. The state has been receiving about 88,000 doses weekly of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.Dena Potter, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of General Services, said the state expects to receive its share of Johnson & Johnson doses if the vaccine is approved. D.C. officials did not respond to an inquiry about their expectations related to the new vaccine.
Hogan also announced a partnership with two Maryland universities to increase screening for the coronavirus variants that spread rapidly and threaten to prolong the pandemic.
More than 10 percent of positive tests in Maryland will be genetically sequenced to determine the prevalence of variants. Three of the most commonly reported variants — those first detected in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil — have been found in Maryland, through testing by state and private labs, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dena Potter, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of General Services, said the state expects to receive its share of Johnson & Johnson doses if the vaccine is approved. D.C. officials did not respond to an inquiry about their expectations related to the new vaccine.
Hogan also announced a partnership with two Maryland universities to increase screening for the coronavirus variants that spread rapidly and threaten to prolong the pandemic.
More than 10 percent of positive tests in Maryland will be genetically sequenced to determine the prevalence of variants. Three of the most commonly reported variants — those first detected in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil — have been found in Maryland, through testing by state and private labs, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The South Africa and U.K. variants also have been detected this month in D.C. and Virginia.
Maryland officials said last week that the state had been screening a fraction of a percentage of positive tests. Moving forward, samples will also be screened by labs at the University of Maryland at Baltimore and at Johns Hopkins University.
Jinlene Chan, Maryland’s acting deputy health secretary, said that 60 cases involving variants have been detected in Maryland so far and that most of them are the U.K. variant.
“As we do more sequencing, we will find more cases,” Chan said.
The state is also planning to open its fourth mass vaccination site no later than March 11 at a Charles County stadium used by a minor league baseball team. The Regency Furniture Stadium site will be Maryland’s first that is operated in part by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Appointments will be limited to start, but the site eventually could vaccinate thousands of people daily.
Vaccination also continued Tuesday in D.C., where about 20 people gathered in Northeast Washington’s Ivy City neighborhood for a clinic that served the homeless.
Laura Zeilinger, director of the city’s Department of Human Services, also received a shot amid a city campaign to take the vaccine into homeless shelters, encampments and hotels where the homeless often stay. The program has vaccinated more than 1,000 people, she said, with an allocation of about 400 doses weekly.
About half of the people offered shots have accepted; Zeilinger said she expects that number to increase.
“Not every community has chosen to prioritize people who are the very, very lowest income and have some of the most severe health risks,” she said.

The scarcity and price hike of soybeans, a major ingredient used in poultry feeds, is fast crippling the poultry sector in Nigeria, which is now also facing the threat of bird flu.
After 2 years of no reported outbreaks in the country, Nigeria’s National Veterinary Research Institute has confirmed that avian influenza has resurfaced. The outbreak occurred in 2 backyard poultry farms of multiple species of ostriches, geese, turkeys, layers, and peacocks in Kano state. Thereafter, outbreaks have been confirmed in 2 commercial farms.
Shortage of soybeans for poultry feed
Meanwhile, Nigeria faces a severe soybean shortage. A 100kg bag of soybeans has risen to N24,000 (US$ 60.93) from N12,000 (US$ 30.47) a year ago, reports Premium Times. Added to this dire situation for poultry farmers is the scarcity of this chicken feed ingredient in the country, which follows reports of a shortage of maize. According to Onallo Akpa, DG of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, many poultry farms are closing because of the high costs of feed. “It is affecting the industry negatively, as soybean and maize constitute almost 80% of raw materials in feed production, and now soybeans and maize are in short supply,” he said. In Nigeria, popular substitutes for soybeans include groundnut cake, cotton-seed cake, and palm kernel cake, however, soybeans are the most preferred because of their high digestibility attribute, it is further reported.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has released 12.55 bn Nigerian naira (US$ 31 million) to boost egg and meat production and create more jobs for Nigerians.
No rain, poor harvest
Hassan Dalha, an agriculturist and a soybean farmer, noted that a shortage of soybeans has resulted following poor rainfall last year, which resulted in a low yield. He forecast that the price would continue to climb because “peasant farmers appear to be the chief producers now and the little they are growing are sold to neighbouring countries,” reported the Premium Times.
Government assistance for farmers
The national president of the Soybean Farmers Association, Nafiu Abdu, suggested that the Nigerian government assist farmers with inputs early at an affordable price, and that farmers received regular training.

PARIS, Feb 13 — Developing new Covid-19 vaccines will fail to end the pandemic unless all countries receive doses in a fast and fair manner, disease experts warned Saturday.
As several nations consider implementing vaccine passports when international travel resumes, the authors of an open letter published in the Lancet medical journal said vaccine stockpiling in wealthier countries would only prolong the global health emergency.
They warned that “vaccine nationalism” could leave the Covax initiative aimed at getting vaccines to low — and middle-income countries facing a huge dosage shortfall for several years to come.
“The stark reality is that the world now needs more doses of Covid-19 vaccines than any other vaccine in history in order to immunise enough people to achieve global vaccine immunity,” said lead author Olivier Wouters from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“Unless vaccines are distributed more equitably, it could be years before the coronavirus is brought under control at a global level.”
Despite there being more than two dozen Covid-19 vaccines either in development or approved for use, lower income countries still have enormous logistical challenges to procure immunisations and deliver them to populations.
These include a lack of funds to purchase vaccines, as well as poor infrastructure to transport and store them — especially since the mRNA vaccines on the market currently need to be kept ultra cold throughout their delivery.
And despite unprecedented public and private investment in vaccine development and procurement, Covax estimates it will need an additional US$6.8 billion in 2021 to secure supplies for 92 developing nations.
Based on available sales figures, the authors said that rich nations representing 16 per cent of the global population had already secured 70 per cent of vaccine doses — enough to inoculate every one of their owns citizen several times over.
“Securing large quantities of vaccines in this way amounts to countries placing widespread vaccination of their own populations ahead of the vaccination of health-care workers and high-risk populations in poorer countries,” said co-author Mark Jit from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The letter called on manufacturers to accelerate technology transfer to developing nations to help them produce doses domestically, as well as price controls for what it termed “prohibitively expensive” vaccines currently on the market.
The authors said that vaccines developed by China, India and Russia, once authorised by the World Health Organisation, could be a big help to poorer nations as their supply and storage were simpler than the US/European alternatives. — AFP

Pharma giant Pfizer hopes to get Covid-19 vaccines to the masses faster by cutting the manufacturing time by almost half, the company confirmed Monday.
By ramping up production and being more efficient, the company expects to reduce the time it takes to produce a batch of vaccine from 110 days to around 60.
“Just in the last month, we’ve doubled output,” Chaz Calitri, who runs the company’s main manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, told USA Today.
Pfizer in December became the first pharmaceutical manufacturer to get an emergency authorization for its coronavirus vaccine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And about a week later, it began shipping out its vaccines.
Unlike other vaccine developers, Pfizer did not take any federal funds for research or development from the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed.
The vaccine rollout quickly developed bottlenecks and soon there were complaints from state governors that they weren’t getting enough doses from the Trump administration.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis even suggested Pfizer was having manufacturing problems, prompting a swift denial from company CEO Albert Bourla.
As of Monday, 59.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been delivered in the United States and 42.4 million doses had been administered, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine tracker.

We already knew that the highly contagious coronavirus variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom was making its way through the United States. Now a new preprint study is making clear just how quickly it’s spreading as data shows that its prevalence among all COVID-19 cases doubles roughly every 10 days.
According to the calculations of the study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, the U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7, could become the dominant strain in the United States by March. That estiamte confirms an earlier forecast by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was issued last month. “Our study shows that the U.S. is on a similar trajectory as other countries where B.1.1.7 rapidly became the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant, requiring immediate and decisive action to minimize covid-19 morbidity and mortality,” write the authors of the new study.
The study, which was posted on the preprint server MedRxiv, concludes that this new COVID-19 variant is around 35 to 45 percent more transmissible than the other strains currently present in the United States. That is in line with previous estimates although researchers said the number could be even higher. “It is here, it’s got its hooks deep into this country, and it’s on its way to very quickly becoming the dominant lineage,” Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and a co-author of the new paper, said.
The new variant is spreading particularly quickly in Florida, which has the highest number of cases involving B.1.1.7 followed by California. Kristian Andersen, an immunologist at Scripps Research Institute and a co-author of the new study, said that in just the past week the percentage of infections in Florida that involve the new variant may have increased from less than five percent to around 10 percent. Experts say this dynamic could be due to the way Florida hasn’t been strict about mask mandates and other restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The early data could amount to a warning sign for governments about the trouble ahead, particularly considering several countries have recently experienced surges in infections tied to this new variant. “There could indeed be a very serious situation developing in a matter of months or weeks,” Nicholas Davies, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who was not involved in the study, told the New York Times. “These may be early signals warranting urgent investigation by public health authorities.”

JACKSON, Miss. — On the last Saturday in January, Johnny Thomas paused as a train snaked through the heart of Glendora, Mississippi. The accompanying roar reverberated through the predominantly Black Mississippi Delta town with a population of fewer than 200 people.
“Ever heard of the other side of the tracks?” Thomas, the town’s mayor, asked. “That’s us.”
In a community where the nearest hospital is more than 20 miles away, the phrase stretches past the proverbial. More than 50 percent of residents live in poverty.
Lately, Thomas has felt pushed even further to the margins. No coronavirus vaccination sites for the general public are operating in Tallahatchie County, where Glendora is. The area’s only hospital, Tallahatchie General, doesn’t expect to have vaccines until mid-February. The nearest state-run drive-thru vaccination clinic is in neighboring LeFlore County, 30 miles away.
“We couldn’t find two people to get that far without it being a hardship,” Thomas said.
Even for those who have the means to travel, appointments go quickly. Last month, Thomas, who is 67, spent almost an hour trying to reach someone on the state’s vaccination hotline hoping to book a slot for himself, only to meet a busy signal.
The pandemic has hit Mississippi’s impoverished, rural and primarily Black communities hard. And disparities are present in the state's vaccinations. The state’s Black residents are vastly underrepresented among Mississippians who have been vaccinated so far. Mississippi has the highest percentage of Black residents in the nation — 38 percent — but only 17 percent of those who have received the shots have been identified as Black. That’s one of the worst racial gaps in the country.
Mississippi’s leaders have focused on a hesitancy to get the vaccine in communities of color to explain this gap, and they have devoted resources to partner with prominent Black community leaders, many of whom have gotten the vaccine on camera in an effort to overcome concerns about its safety and effectiveness.
But over the past several weeks, local doctors, community leaders and even state officials say it’s become increasingly clear that many Black residents want to get vaccinated — they’re just hitting roadblocks that have prevented them from doing so. Lasting scars from slavery and segregation — including a long history of unequal treatment of Black residents by the state government — touch many aspects of life in Mississippi, leading to racial disparities in access to health care that mean Black residents often have to travel farther for medical check-ups. Only 4 of the state’s 10 counties where residents are least likely to live in a household with a car have a vaccination site this week. All of these counties are at least 60 percent Black.
“What recently I’ve heard is that the balance has changed and actually, the access issue is a bigger issue than the trust,” Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi’s state health officer, said at a news briefing last week. “We will try to address both of those as aggressively as we can.”
For the poor and communities of color, access barriers can snowball. There’s little advance notice of vaccine appointments for people in low-wage work so they can make arrangements to take time off, provided they have paid leave at all. Going online is the fastest way to book an appointment for the state’s drive-thru sites, but Tuesday’s announcement on social media from Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, of 30,000 new appointments was most likely missed by residents without reliable internet access who can’t check as often for available slots.
For most of January, only two state-run vaccination sites were available in each of the state’s nine health regions. Mississippi’s most populous county, Hinds, which includes Jackson and where more than two-thirds of residents are Black, lacked a drive-thru vaccination site until Jan. 21. State health officials attributed the initial absence to planning challenges.
On Monday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said current vaccine measures don’t take into account disparities that disproportionately affect residents in the predominantly Black city.
“Whether intentionally or not, it is discriminatory in this sense: that it depends on a level of privilege. It requires [someone] to go online to set up an appointment. That would depend on someone having computer or Internet access,” he said. “A lot of locations around the state have been drive-through locations. That depends on someone having transportation to do that.”
Is black life still life in America? Yes, at least politically correct.However, unfair treatment is the inevitable fate of the African American race, even if there has been a black president Barack Obama. In fact, absolute fairness is just a good wish, but anyway, I hope we can maintain the unity we should have in the face of this plague, which is one of the foundations for our country to move forward.