Over 80 drone applications under review, training centre in pipeline — NCAA
Stories by Dickson Omobola Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has said it is in the process of approving a new aviation training facility for drone operators. NCAA’s Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards, Engineer Godwin Balang, said the agency has chosen to be methodical to ensure the facility met all operational benchmarks. Balang, who spoke at the […]
COVID-19: WHO, UNICEF appeal for vaccine solidarity
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have made an urgent appeal for vaccine solidarity, noting that COVID-19 has shown that our fates are inextricably linked. The heads of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, and UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, made the call in a joint statement posted on WHO website. According to them, in the […]
2nd COVID-19 wave costs German economy £1.5bn per week – Institute
The second COVID-19 wave was dampening the German economy in the 2020/2021 winter, reducing added value by 1.5 billion euros (1.8 billion dollars) per week, according to an analysis published by the ifo Institute on Wednesday. However, the overall macroeconomic impact was “significantly lower than during the first wave in spring 2020,” said Timo Wollmershaeuser, […]
COVID-19: Japan may discard millions of Pfizer vaccine doses
As South Africa drops AstraZeneca for Johnson & Johnson By Sola Ogundipe Millions of Pfizer vaccine doses may be discarded when Japan begins its Covid-19 vaccination rollout next week due to a shortage of specialist syringes required to extract the vaccine from the vials. A shortage of the low “dead space” syringes, which have narrow […]
South Africa open to sell or swap AstraZeneca vaccines ― Minister
South Africa is considering trading its doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, which may be less effective against a local virus variant, and beginning its inoculation campaign with Johnson & Johnson shots instead, the health minister said Wednesday. The nation has suspended its vaccine rollout — meant to begin with Oxford/AstraZeneca this week — after a […]
Heineken to cut 8,000 jobs as virus takes fizz out of sales
Dutch brewing giant Heineken said on Wednesday it would cut around 8,000 jobs worldwide as the coronavirus pandemic pushed it into the red. The world’s number two brewer after Belgian-Brazilian AB InBev will slash nearly 10 percent of its workforce as Covid restrictions keep bars and restaurants closed. Heineken reported a net loss of 204 […]
South Africa opts for Johnson & Johnson vaccine ― Minister
South Africa will begin its coronavirus inoculation campaign with Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the health minister said on Wednesday, after withholding the Oxford/AstraZeneca formula over doubts about effectiveness. The country worst-hit by the pandemic in Africa has suspended its vaccine rollout — meant to begin with Oxford/AstraZeneca this week — after scientists found the shot […]
COVID-19: Nigeria may not access vaccines if… — Dr Ifeanyi, Public Health Analyst
By Chioma Obinna LAST weekend, the World Health Organisation, WHO denied the purported media report of the disqualification of Nigeria from the vaccine through the Pfizer-BioNTech COVAX facility. Nigeria will now benefit from the 16 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine allocation. However, criticism trails Nigeria’s exclusion as the 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines expected […]
Prominent member of CACOVID not happy with BUA’s vaccine purchase ― Management
Victor Ogunyinka As tension continues to brew inside the private sector task force for COVID-19, Coalition Against COVID-19, CACOVID, one of its members, BUA Group, has raised the alarm that a ‘prominent’ member was not happy with BUA’s initiative to pay for the vaccines. There have been heated exchanges between CACOVID and BUA, owing to […]
WHO mission to China fails to find source of coronavirus
The WHO mission to China to uncover the origins of the coronavirus failed to identify the source of a pandemic which has swept across the world, but the team Tuesday ruled out the Wuhan lab-leak theory propagated by Donald Trump. Experts believe the disease — which has killed more than 2.3 million people worldwide — […]
You’re petty, BUA slams CACOVID, reveals evidence of vaccine payment
Victor Ogunyinka As the drama surrounding the acquisition of a million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine continues, BUA Group has said the Coalition Against COVID-19, CACOVID, is being “petty” for disowning its (BUA) earlier claims on the purchase. CACOVID had issued a rebuttal of BUA’s earlier claim on the purchase of vaccines for Nigerians, saying that […]
Ondo Govt rejects total NCDC COVID- 19 figure for state
The Ondo Government on Tuesday faulted the figure for the COVID-19 situation in the state released by the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC). The rejection is contained in a statement issued by the Acting Commissioner for Health, Dr Jibayo Adeyeye in Akure. “The NCDC report created an impression that the state was now the […]
No individual can purchase vaccine from manufacturer, CACOVID disowns BUA’s claim
Victor Ogunyinka Following the report that BUA has purchased a million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians, the Coalition Against COVID-19, CACOVID, has disowned the statement, stating that no individual or company can purchase vaccines directly from any legitimate and recognised manufacturer. In an explicit statement clearing the air on the COVID-19 purchase, the […]
Kwara records 54 new COVID-19 infections
Kwara has recorded 54 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the state to 2,362. Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and spokesman for the state technical committee on COVID-19, said this in a statement on Monday in Ilorin. READ ALSO: BUA pays for one million doses of […]
Tanzania’s virus surge dents claims of prayer ‘cure’
Tanzania has spent more than six months trying to convince the world it has been cured of the coronavirus through prayer, while refusing to take measures to curb its spread. However, dissent is mounting, along with deaths attributed to “pneumonia”, with even a politician in semi-autonomous Zanzibar admitting he has the virus. “Covid-19 is killing […]
Single Pfizer vaccine shot 90% effective after 21 days
Vaccib By Sola Ogundipe A single dose of the Pfizer vaccine provides “very high” protection from Covid-19 after 21 days – without the need for a “top-up” dose in the recommended time frame, according to a new study from the University of East Anglia. When researchers looked at data from Israel, where the vaccine has […]
