COVID-19
NCDC: Confirmed case of Delta variant of coronavirus detected in Nigeria
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Thursday, said it had detected a confirmed case with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, also known as lineage B.1.617.2. The variant was detected in a traveller to Nigeria following the routine travel test required of all international travelers and genomic sequencing at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja. The Delta variant is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a variant of concern, given its increased transmissibility. Facts indicated that the variant has been detected in over 90 countries and is expected to spread to more countries. The variant has also been linked to a surge in cases in countries where it is the dominant strain in circulation. According to NCDC, “there are ongoing studies to understand the impact ...
Nigerian lawmakers approve $2.4 bn funds for security, coronavirus vaccines
Nigerian lawmakers on Wednesday approved some 982.7 billion naira ($2.4 billon) additional budget funds to help the government buy COVID-19 vaccines, and equipment for its security forces. Africa’s top oil producer, Nigeria is struggling with the economic impact of the pandemic and a slump in crude prices as well as surging violence from criminal gangs and its grinding jihadist insurgency. The approved amount is $216.8 million higher than President Muhammadu Buhari’s request made to the lawmakers in June and is expected to be sourced through international and local borrowing. Most of the funds – around 722 billion naira ($1.8 billion) would go towards the procurement of additional equipment for security forces, Senator Barau Jibrin, chair of the senate appropriation committee, said. Around...
Moderna starts human trials of an mRNA-based flu shot
Moderna gave its mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine to the first set of volunteers in a clinical trial, the pharmaceutical company announced today. The start of the trial marks the next stage of the company’s work on this type of vaccine technology after the overwhelming success of its COVID-19 vaccine, which was built using the same strategy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines were still largely experimental, even as they were heralded as the future of vaccine development. People who get an mRNA vaccine are injected with tiny snippets of genetic material from the target virus. Their cells use that genetic information to build bits of the virus, which the body’s immune system learns to fight against. The high efficacy of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTec...
Sub-Saharan Africa to Reach 70 Million 5G Subscriptions in Next 5 Years
Ericsson projects via a new report that 5G mobile subscriptions will exceed 580 million by the end of 2021, driven by an estimated one million new 5G mobile subscriptions every day. “Fastest Adopted Mobile Generation” The forecast, which features in the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, confirms the expectation that 5G will become the fastest adopted mobile generation. 5G is expected to surpass a billion subscriptions two years ahead of the 4G LTE timeline for the same milestone. The report features breakout statistics from Sub-Saharan African markets where around 15% of mobile subscriptions were for 4G at the end of 2020. Mobile broadband subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to increase, reaching 76% of mobile subscriptions by 2026. However, 5G volumes are not expected to...
Buckherry Singer Josh Todd Became a Certified Phlebotomist During the Pandemic
Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd has made the most of his time during the pandemic. Not only did he record a new album with his band, he became a fully certified phlebotomist, also known as a health professional who draws blood from patients for medical testing. While speaking with SiriusXM host Eddie Trunk about Buckcherry’s recently released ninth studio album, Hellbound, Todd discussed the various activities he engaged in during lockdown. “I got into action. I’m not one that really sits around for too long. I never get on the pity potty. I just go, ‘Okay, what am I gonna do with this time? I’ve got all this time. How can I utilize it wisely?’ And making the Hellbound record was one of them.” He went on to say that he participated in a lot of addiction recovery Zoom meetings and started pla...
The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft Pulls Out of UK Festival Over COVID-19 Restrictions
Richard Ashcroft has informed fans that he’s pulled out of his scheduled appearance at the UK’s Tramlines Festival because of the event’s government imposed COVID-19 restrictions. Tramlines announced last week that the full-capacity event, set for July 23rd-25th would be part of England’s Events Research Programme. That means the fest will be under certain restrictions to help the UK government test the safety of returning to full-scale events. Ashcroft is apparently not down with that, as the former Verve rocker has a standing “no ERP events” policy. “I had informed my agent months ago I wouldn’t be playing concerts with restrictions,” Ashcroft wrote in an Instagram post. “The status of the festival was one thing when I signed up for it, but, sadly was forced to become something else. It ...
UNN vice chancellor: Coronavirus pandemic most global challenge since World War II
Prof. Charles Igwe, the Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has said that COVID-19 pandemic is arguably the most global challenge since world war II. Igwe said this in Nsukka on Monday during UNN 1st Annual International Conference titled: “A Whole New World; Research, Development and Innovation in the Pandemic Era.” He said that COVID-19 which has killed many people across the globe as well as infected many others has affected the economy, lives, people’s ways of living in virtually every country of the world. “COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious global challenge since the world war II the world has witnessed. “As this has affected the economy, people’s ways of life and behaviour of entire people of the world,” he said. He commended federal government on handling the ...
E-Learning Has Changed Education in Africa Forever
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Addressing Data Storage Challenges in Healthcare Can Empower its Digital Transformation
Sourced from Getty Images. The healthcare industry has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of digital transformation in the last 12 months. Essential remote care services, critical real-time hyper-localised data in tracking pandemic trends, and the rapid rollout of a worldwide vaccine have been facilitated by digitalization. This growing reliance on digital operations brings with it vast amounts of data – according to IDC in May 2020, more than 59 zettabytes (ZB) of data would be created, captured, copied, and consumed in the world last year alone. This sudden and exponential increased digital demand has meant that the essential data infrastructure that healthcare relies on has come under enormous pressure and must handle critical data and workloads. At the same time, improvements in te...
Chris Kattan Kicked Off Flight for Refusing to Wear Mask
Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Kattan was booted from an American Airlines flight on Monday when he refused to wear his mask correctly. Apparently in the process he frightened several of his fellow first-class passengers. Kattan was scheduled to fly to LAX from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. According to TMZ, he was “stumbling and seemed sick” when boarding the plane, in part because “he had mucous hanging out of his nose when he leaned over.” Kattan was not wearing a mask at that point, so passengers alerted flight attendants about the potential health risk. The airline staff quickly handed Kattan paper towels and ordered him to put a mask on. Technically, Kattan put a mask on over his mouth, but refused to properly wear it over his nose as well. The federal mask mandate is still in pl...
