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Showing posts with label Vaccines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vaccines. Show all posts

Thursday, April 15, 2021

10:58

In Asaba: NAFDAC impounds vehicle loaded with unwholesome medicine, vaccines




The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has impounded a Mercedes Truck laden with banned and unregistered medicinal products in Asaba, Delta.

A statement signed by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, said that the agency’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday.

The statement quoted Adeyeye as saying that the agency had resolved to ensure that only wholesome medicinal products and other regulated products were available in the markets for public use and consumption.

The director-general said that a Mercedes truck suspected to be carrying substandard and falsified medicinal products was intercepted along Asaba –Benin road by officers of the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, following an intelligence report.

According to her, after thorough screening, the truck was found to contain, among other products, improperly stored Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine, and various unregistered banned and controlled medicinal products.

She said that part of the drugs includes Analgin Injection, CSP with Codeine cough syrup, Mepacrine HCL Tablets, Diethylcarbamazine Citrate Tablets, Dano Tetanus Vaccine, Artestunate Injection, and many others.

Adeyeye explained that the products were evacuated, inventory were taken while the suspects with cartons containing the products made police statements and were released on administrative bail.

According to the NAFDAC boss, further investigations revealed that the truck was conveying medicinal products purchased from Ogbo-Ogwu Bridge Head market in Onitsha, Anambra, for supply to retailers in Warri, Delta.

“The retailer outlets who are mostly in Warri are Pendrix Pharmacy, Samtex Pharmacy, Onos Pharmacy, Chima Patent Medicine Store, Imoson Patent Medicine Store, Sam-C Patent Medicine Store, Sunshine Patent Medicine Store and Hyunus Patent Medicine Store respectively.

“Others are Chuks Patent Medicine Store, Solomon Patent Medicine Store, Friday Patent Medicine Store, Madam Faithmax Patent Medicine Store, Omas Pharmacy, Evans Patent Medicine Store, Chiyere Patent Medicine Store
and Philo Patent Medicine Store, Bridge Head Market, Onitsha,” she said.

Adeyeye, however, warned medicine merchants to always have the general wellbeing of Nigerians at heart over and above any other pecuniary consideration, stressing that there is no longer a hiding place for them.

She also cautioned them to stop the circulation of illicit business and dangerous medicinal products capable of compromising the health of the Nigerians. Vanguardngr
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Friday, February 05, 2021

06:08

COVID-19: Africa To Receive Nearly 90m Vaccines In February, says WHO




Africa will receive nearly 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from COVAX in February 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) African region said on Thursday. 

“Africa has watched other regions start COVID-19 vaccination campaigns from the side-lines for too long,” WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti said during a briefing on the roll-out of vaccines in the continent. “This planned roll-out is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines. We know no one will be safe until everyone is safe.”

In what could the organisation described as the largest ever mass vaccination campaign in Africa, the agency noted that the vaccines would come mainly from the AstraZeneca/Oxford AZD1222 vaccine. However, the rollout is subject to the vaccine being approved for emergency use by the WHO. The review is expected to be received soon, the agency added.

Africa has watched other regions start #COVID19 vaccination campaigns from the side-lines for too long. This planned roll-out is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines.

We know no one will be safe until everyone is safe. pic.twitter.com/Voaq84Ha1N

— Dr Matshidiso Moeti (@MoetiTshidi) February 4, 2021

These doses are targeted at vaccinating 3% of the African population who are most in need of protection, including health workers and other vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021. 

Equally, about 320 000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been allocated to four nations – Cape Verde, Rwanda, South Africa and Tunisia. These countries are able to store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccines at minus 70 degrees Celsius, the agency said.

And as COVID-19 vaccine production capacity increases, the WHO said its target is to vaccinate at least 20% of Africans by providing up to 600 million doses by the end of the year.

Full Statement From WHO African Region
COVAX has notified countries in Africa of the estimated dose allocation for the first phase of COVID-19 vaccine delivery. The global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) aims to start shipping nearly 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the continent in February, in what will be Africa’s largest ever mass vaccination campaign.

The roll-out of the AstraZeneca/Oxford AZD1222 vaccine is subject to the vaccine being listed for emergency use by WHO. The organization is currently reviewing the vaccine and the outcome of the review is expected soon.

“Africa has watched other regions start COVID-19 vaccination campaigns from the side-lines for too long. This planned roll-out is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We know no one will be safe until everyone is safe.”

COVAX notified countries through letters which were sent on 30 January 2021. Amid surging demand for COVID-19 vaccines, the final shipments will be based on production capacities of vaccine manufacturers and the readiness of countries. Recipient countries are required to submit finalized national deployment and vaccination plans to receive vaccines from the COVAX facility.
In addition, around 320 000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been allocated to four African countries -Cabo Verde, Rwanda, South Africa and Tunisia.
This vaccine has received WHO Emergency Use Listing but requires countries to be able to store and distribute doses at minus 70 degrees Celsius.  To access an initial limited volume of Pfizer vaccine, countries were invited to submit proposals. Thirteen African countries submitted proposals and were evaluated by a multi-agency committee based on current mortality rates, new cases and trends, and the capacity to handle the ultra-cold chain needs of the vaccine.

“This announcement allows countries to fine-tune their planning for COVID-19 immunization campaigns. We urge African nations to ramp up readiness and finalize their national vaccine deployment plans. Regulatory processes, cold chain systems and distribution plans need to be in place to ensure vaccines are safely expedited from ports of entry to delivery. We can’t afford to waste a single dose,” said Dr Moeti.

The initial phase of 90 million doses will support countries to immunize 3% of the African population most in need of protection, including health workers and other vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021. As production capacity increases and more vaccines become available the aim is to vaccinate at least 20% of Africans by providing up to 600 million doses by the end of 2021.

To complement COVAX efforts, the African Union has secured 670 million vaccine doses for the continent which will be distributed in 2021 and 2022 as countries secure adequate financing. The African Export-Import Bank will facilitate payments by providing advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to US$2 billion to the manufacturers on behalf of countries.

Dr Moeti spoke during a virtual press conference today facilitated by APO Group. She was joined by Hon. Khumbize Kandondo Chiponda, Minister of Health, Malawi and Hon. Dr Daniel Ngamije, Minister of Health, Rwanda. Also on hand to answer questions were Dr Richard Mihigo, Immunization and Vaccine Development Programme Coordinator, WHO Regional Office for Africa, and Dr Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi, Regional Virologist, WHO Regional Office for Africa.  ChannelsTv
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Friday, January 08, 2021

06:59

COVID-19: Vaccines may not arrive early enough - FG



The Federal Government has warned that COVID-19 vaccines might not arrive “soon enough” in Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said this while urging Nigerians not to be complacent in containing the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday at the joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

Mamora, who was represented by the Director, Hospital Services, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, assured Nigerians of FG’s determination to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The minister said, “We are working very hard to get vaccines for our people. It may not come soon enough, therefore we need to be alive to get the vaccines when they come.

“We need to be alive to get the vaccines when they come. I have brought this up to underscore the importance of compliance with non-pharmaceutical measures as advised to reduce transmission.”

The minister added that as of Wednesday, new cases recorded were 1,354 with one death; while the total number of cases tested was 1,004,915.

“Number of confirmed cases is 94,369. Active cases stand at 15,764. Discharged cases till date are 77,299. Number of deaths till date is 1,324 with case fatality rate of 1.4 per cent.

“The Federal Government is determined to ensure morbidity due to COVID-19 is reduced to the barest minimum while improving on the fatality rate,” Mamora said.

He said that appropriate measures were being taken to achieve these objectives.

According to him, a second phase assessment of the isolation and treatment centres country-wide to verify challenges was to be carried out immediately.

This, he said, would enable the government to provide appropriate intervention measures required to strengthen these centres.

“We will continue to appeal to states to increase testing and contact tracing. The cooperation of the states with the federal authorities is critical to our collective objective of defeating COVID-19,” he added. Punch
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

10:49

When countries get wealthier, children Can lose out on Vaccines


You'd think that as a poor country grows wealthier, more of its children would get vaccinated for preventable diseases such as polio, measles and pneumonia.


But a review published in Nature this month offers a different perspective. wesm913.org

 "The countries that are really poor get a lot of support for the vaccinations. The countries that are really rich can afford to pay for the vaccines anyway," says Beate Kampmann, director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and author of the review.

250,000 cases of rape or attempted rape were recorded by police annually; From 65 Countries, A rating was done and most African countries

But, she says, "the middle-income countries are in a tricky situation because they don't qualify for support, yet they don't necessarily have the financial resources and stability to purchase the vaccines."

 Adrien de Chaisemartin, director of strategy and performance at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, agrees: "More and more vulnerable populations live in middle-income countries." Gavi, an international nonprofit that helps buy and distribute vaccines, projects that 70% of the world's under-immunized children will live in middle-income countries by 2030.


Brazil, India, Indonesia and Nigeria were among the 10 countries with the most children who lacked basic vaccinations in 2018 — for example, shots to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis by age 1. Each of those countries meets the World Bank's definition of a middle-income country: an average annual income (known as the gross national income, or GNI, per capita) between $1,026 and $12,375. In Nigeria alone, 3 million kids are undervaccinated. That's 15% of the world's total of children who lack key vaccinations.

 By contrast, vaccination rates can be high in poor countries, according to global health researchers, who say that Gavi has boosted the numbers. Rwanda, for instance, despite having a GNI of $780 per person, now has a near-universal coverage rate for childhood vaccines, on par with some of the wealthiest countries.


But in general, once a country reaches a GNI per capita threshold over $1,580 for three years, support from Gavi tapers off. And despite their improved fortunes, countries don't always choose to fund childhood vaccines.

 Angola is among the middle-income countries with the lowest vaccination rates. Diamonds and oil have helped propel the country out of low-income status, and its president is a billionaire. Yet an estimated 30% to 40% of children there did not receive basic vaccines in 2018.

 The lag in vaccination rates is caused by any number of reasons. "There's a whole list of middle-income countries, and they're not all the same," says Kampmann.


For example, Sam Agbo, former chief of child survival and development for UNICEF Angola, says Angola's leadership does not fully fund immunization programs. Agbo blames a political system that he says is mired in corruption, financial mismanagement and lots of debt. So it's hard to increase the health care budget. "Primary health care is not sexy," he says. "People are interested in building hospitals and specialized centers rather than investing in preventive care."

 Gavi's de Chaisemartin groups Angola with other resource-rich but corruption-plagued countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. "These are countries where the GNI is relatively high because of their oil resources, for the most part, but that doesn't translate into a stronger health system," says de Chaisemartin.

 Then there's the matter of cost. Countries that buy vaccines on the open market might pay over $100 a shot.


Public attitudes also play a role. In Brazil, which is on the high end of the middle-income spectrum, an immunization program that once outperformed World Health Organization recommendations has been declining for three years. Jorge Kalil Filho, an immunology professor at the University of Sao Paulo, says public inattention and anti-vaccine campaigns, popular on social media, are undermining progress.

 De Chaisemartin says the global health community needs to adjust to an unprecedented global economic shift. "Fifteen years ago, the world was divided between poor countries, where most poor people were living, and high-income countries," says de Chaisemartin. "Now you have a lot of middle-income countries with very poor and vulnerable populations."
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