Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire has noted that the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus is already the dominant strain in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Minister stated this Monday during the national briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19.
In his words: “The dreaded 3rd wave of Covid-19 may appear to be levelling out because there have been no catastrophic increases in infections and fatalities. But it is not wise to assume that the threat is gone, especially as cases are fluctuating and have to be identified by genomic sequencing.
“Evidence so far, however, is that the Delta strain is already dominant in Nigeria. We must keep our protective measures in place and increase testing to determine our situation.”
Ehanire added that “there are reports of new coronavirus mutations circulating in other countries, a development we shall monitor with all tools available to us, to ensure we respond appropriately. We also remain on alert at Points of Entry, including land and sea borders, to confront importation of Covid-19. Several cases have been indeed been identified by Rapid Diagnostic test and taken care of accordingly.
“Regarding vaccines, all States have received doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna and J&J vaccines for the ongoing 2nd phase of the vaccination exercise in all States. The Federal Government has done due diligence to ensure vaccine quality and safety. Available data shows that there have been no serious adverse effects so far, following vaccination so that confidence in vaccines we are using is upheld.
“We have a good mix and quantity of vaccines and do not envisage shortages, despite news reports that vaccines allocated to Africa will be reduced by 25% soon. We believe the reduction may be linked with increased demand in high-income countries many of whom have commenced 3rd booster doses of covid-19 and or reduced vaccine eligibility age in their countries to 12 years or even less. This tells us that the vaccine is effective and that we should also accept it.
“The government has secured nearly 40 million doses of J&J vaccines to be arriving at a rate that NPHCDA will set, to align with their utilization strategy. We shall also surely receive donor doses, so that we do not expect to be impacted by the expected shortfall.
“There is no doubt that, in the long run, we shall have to live with Covid-19 and so must design a way to do so. The plan will vary from country to country, depending on their situation, strengths and weaknesses. The search for, and pathway to such sustainability will need to be thoroughly interrogated from all angles, and continuously reviewed to align with prevailing circumstances. There can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ and countries need to seek the best of both safety and socio-economic normalization.”
