Health
Covid-19: NPHCDA Deploys Moderna Vaccines To 29 States
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), says the Moderna vaccines donated by the United State to step up efforts to battle a third wave of the Covid-19 have been deployed to 29 states.
The Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, at the National COVID-19 vaccines briefing.
The Tide source reports that the donation was part of President Joe Biden’s promise to give 500 million vaccines to the world by the end of 2022.
The vaccines are brought in through COVAX, the international aid initiative that seeks to ensure global access to vaccines.
Shuaib said it was pertinent to state that the agency could not deploy the vaccines immediately after the NAFDAC certification because, unlike the Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna vaccine did not come with a complete barcoding.
The Tide source reports that a barcode, consisting of bars and spaces, is a machine-readable representation of numerals and characters.
There are two primary types of barcodes, linear and 2D. Linear and 2D barcodes serve the same purpose, however 2D barcodes can store more information in less area.
The NPHCDA boss said, “this is absolutely needed for us to be able to track and trace the vaccines. Nigeria was the first country to use track and trace, to monitor the movement and utilisation of the vaccine.
“At every point in time, we know where each vaccine vial is in the country. This takes a lot of time as it entails careful packaging, serialisation and follow up to the end user.’’
He said that any state the agency was sending the vaccines to was fully ready to receive them.
“Readiness here means that the state’s ultra-cold chain equipment is fully functional and able to store the vaccines at the required temperatures. Also, the states must have back-up storage facilities such as walk-in cold room, walk-in freezer or chest freezers with reliable 24-hour power supply”.
“Additionally, we require that the states have trained health care workers who will monitor the equipment and the vaccines.
“Now that the vaccines are in the states, we are counting on our governors to continue to provide the needed oversight and resources to ensure that these vaccines are secured and maintained in the required temperatures and that all eligible persons are mobilised to access the vaccines to protect themselves, their families and their communities against COVID-19,” he urged.
Shuaib said that for Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is a single dose, using the Geographical Information System (GIS) the agency had mapped out the hard-to-reach areas across all states, such as security-compromised, riverine, nomadic and border settlements, where these vaccines would be deployed for targeted vaccination.
“The reason for targeting these areas with the Johnson & Johnson is because of geographical constraints that make it difficult to reach the dwellers with the second dose after the first contact. Secondly, it removes the additional logistic cost for going to these communities twice.
“We have developed the necessary protocols to guide the states and ensure compliance with the distribution guideline for the vaccine,” he said.
According to him, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be used as the second dose for those who received their first dose during the first phase to ensure they are fully vaccinated.
“Consequently, the administration of AstraZeneca vaccine will commence on Aug. 25, and will close Sept. 5,” he said.
He, therefore, urged all those who received their first dose prior to July 8, to visit a designated vaccination site from Aug. 25 to Sept.5, to receive their second dose and become fully protected against virus.
He noted that as the country received more supplies, it would then open it up for those who might wish to take their first dose.
Shuaib said that the initiatives the agency had introduced in the second phase of the vaccination rollout and subsequent phases was the Primary Healthcare services Integration (PSI), also known as the “whole of family” approach.
“This means that when you visit a health facility for your COVID-19 vaccination, you will be given health talks to improve your knowledge of the vaccine and vaccination and if you are 40 years and above, you will have the opportunity to check your blood pressure and be assessed for the risk of diabetes.
“Similarly, children aged zero to 12 months will be screened for malnutrition and vaccinated against childhood diseases such as measles, yellow fever, hepatitis and polio. If you need further medical attention, you will be referred to the appropriate hospital for additional analysis and treatment,” he explained.
He called on every person aged 18 years and above, who had not been vaccinated to visit any of the agency’s vaccination sites to receive their first dose of Moderna vaccine.
Also speaking, representative from UNICEF in Nigeria, Dr Peter Hawkins, called on Nigerians to receive the vaccines available in the country, noting that they were all verified to be efficacious.
According to Hawkins, who was represented by Dr Gupta Gagan, of UNICEF, the vaccine can be lifesaving but people will only take on information that they trust.
“There are useful information round COVID-19 vaccines, from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organisation (WHO) and NPHCDA websites, where they can get verified information,” he said.
He said that the healthcare workers should be responsive to citizens when they came for vaccination.
Hawkins called on the over 2.5 million Nigerians who had been vaccinated to mobilise the people in their communities to go out and be vaccinated.
Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO representative to Nigeria, highlighted the country’s high level preparedness.
Mulombo reiterated the importance of extensive engagement of the media to create sensitisation and get more Nigerians vaccinated.
He, however, underscored that the vaccines approved by both WHO and NAFDAC were safe and effective.
He enjoined Nigerians get vaccinated to reduce transmission of the virus.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.
