COVID-19
India’s Serum Institute seeks approval for COVID-19 vaccine
The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer by volume, has sought government approval for emergency-use authorisation of the coronavirus vaccine that it has developed in partnership with the University of Oxford and British drugmaker AstraZeneca. “As promised, before the end of 2020, @SerumInstIndia has applied for emergency use authorisation for the first made-in-India vaccine, COVISHIELD,” the company CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted on Monday. The experimental vaccine can be stored at two to eight degrees Celsius and can be distributed more easily in India, which has the world’s second-highest number of infections at 9.6 million. The company has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), with Poonawalla saying the vaccine will “save countless lives” witho...
CIBN urges banks to strengthen cyber-security
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has urged the banks to strengthen their cyber-security architecture in order to prevent attacks by fraudsters. President/Chairman of Council of the institute, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, made the call while delivering his remarks at the 2020 CIBN Fellowship Investiture in Lagos, at the weekend. The CIBN at its investiture formally conferred its honorary fellowship awards on 19 distinguished bankers in recognition of their contributions to the banking industry and the economy; 77 associates as elected Fellows while 105 senior management staff of banks and the academia became Honorary Senior Members of the institute at the event with the theme: ‘Financial Services in a post COVID 19 Environment: Strategic Imperative’. Some that were conferred with ...
Kuwaiti opposition make gains in first parliamentary vote under new emir
Opposition candidates made gains in a parliamentary vote in Kuwait in which two thirds of MPs lost their seats and no women were elected, a result which analysts said could hamper government reform efforts to address a severe liquidity crunch. Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who took the reins in September following the death of his brother, had raised hopes of a detente between the ruling family and their critics in the perpetually deadlocked and fractious parliament. The final count carried on state media on Sunday showed that 31 new lawmakers had been elected to the 50-seat assembly, which is unusually outspoken for the highly authoritarian Gulf region. None of the 29 female candidates who stood in the election were successful. There was no official figure for turnout but local med...
Jeremih Released from Hospital Following COVID-19 Battle
Jeremih has officially been released from the hospital after receiving treatment for a severe case of COVID-19. The R&B singer had been placed in the intensive care unit and put on a ventilator due to his deteriorating health. In a statement provided to ABC 7, Jeremih offered his immense gratitude to the healthcare workers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago who “saved” his life. The 33-year-old Windy City native also shouted out all the friends, family, colleagues, and fans who’ve prayed for his speedy recovery: “First and foremost, I would like to thank God and the incredible team of doctors and nurses at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for saving my life. I will be forever grateful. I would also like to thank my family and friends for all their prayers and well wishes. I’m o...
AU welcomes Nigeria ahead of AfCFTA kick-off
The African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Albert Muchanga, said in Addis Ababa on Friday that instruments signifying Nigeria’s entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be received at the commission’s headquarters shortly ahead of next year’s kick-off of trading. Speaking during the AfCFTA Business Forum 2020 to discuss the status of preparations to launch the continental trading, Muchanga said the launch of trading will facilitate the growth of African enterprise and enhance the capacity of industries producing goods to a wider population. Nigeria, which signed the AfCFTA agreement in 2019, officially ratified the agreement on 12 November. The instruments of ratification are expected to be received at the AU on Saturday, 5 December, the deadline for the...
African environment ministers support green recovery plan
Ministers of Environment from Africa on Friday agreed to support a comprehensive green recovery plan to boost economies and social systems aimed at building back better from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is contained in a ministerial statement issued at the end of the eighth special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Nairobi, Kenya. Representatives of the 54 African governments re-affirmed their commitment to enhance environmental resilience as well as protect and sustainably use natural resources for the region’s development. The high-level ministerial regional conference held virtually under the theme “Enhancing Environmental Action for Effective Post-COVID Recovery in Africa”, further called to accelerate the protection and restoratio...
Black Panther’s Letitia Wright Promotes Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories on Twitter
Letitia Wright, star of Black Panther and Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, is facing a backlash after promoting anti-vaccination conspiracy theories on Twitter. On Thursday night, as The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, and others have documented, the Guyanese-British actress posted a 70-minute video with the all-caps title “COVID-19 VACCINE, SHOULD WE TAKE IT?” The author, Tomi Arayomi, is a self-described “Prophet” whose content spans Christianity, human rights, and conspiracy theories. “I don’t understand vaccines medically but I’ve always been a little bit of a skeptic of them,” he says towards the beginning of the rambling, fact-free video. Arayomi goes on to explain how RFID chips could be implanted through vaccines, name checks Bill Gates, George Soros, and The Great Reset, and...
France: Coronavirus vaccine will be free for all
France will ensure free COVID-19 vaccinations for all who are in its social security system and has earmarked 1.5 billion euros of next year’s social security budget to cover the cost, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. Castex said the vaccination campaign would begin in a matter of weeks, pending regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency. The inoculation programme would be staggered over three categories of people, he said, commencing with the most vulnerable in nursing homes. “The vaccination will be free for all,” Castex told a press conference. France has ordered some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines, Castex said, enough to inoculate 100 million people – more than France’s population. The COVID-19 vaccination will be vol...
CDC Panel Votes 13-1 That COVID-19 Vaccine Should Go To Healthcare Workers & Nursing Home Residents First
Source: SOPA Images / Getty It’s been a long nine months thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is finally some light at the end of this tunnel in the form of multiple vaccine candidates. With both Moderna and Pfizer applying for emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccines that have both proven to be highly effective against the virus, the CDC is held a vote to determine who would be first in line to get the potential life-saving shot. In a 13-1 vote held on Tuesday (Dec.1), a panel comprised of CDC experts agreed that first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine should go to healthcare workers on the frontline and nursing home residents as soon as the FDA gives the okay. The decision could be handed down sometime in December. Per Buzzfeed News: “The CDC Advisory Committee on Immuni...
Mercedes replaces Lewis Hamilton with George Russell for Sakhir Grand Prix
British race driver, George Russell, will take Lewis Hamilton’s place at Mercedes for this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix after the seven-time champion tested positive for coronavirus. Mercedes has backed Russell’s career since 2017 and he is effectively on a three-year loan at Williams, where he has posted some impressive races since making his F1 debut last season. Jack Aitken, a 25-year-old British-Korean, will race in Russell’s place at Williams for his F1 debut while Russell is away at Mercedes. Mercedes had approached Williams to see if a deal to release Russell was possible as soon as it became apparent that Hamilton’s absence from the first race of his career was confirmed after the positive COVID-19 test and retest. And the confirmation of an agreement arrived on Wednesday morning. T...
Lil Wayne & Other Celebs Facing Criticism For Attending His Daughter’s Maskless Soiree In Covlanta
Source: Prince Williams / Getty Despite the great news on the coronavirus vaccine front, COVID-19 is still here, but you definitely wouldn’t know that, by the way, many of your favorite celebs have been moving. This past weekend, Lil Wayne’s daughter, Reginae Carter, said COVID-19 is not gonna stop me from living my best life. Weezy’s seed decided to throw a maskless 1990s and early 2000s themed bash at an Atlanta venue with her boyfriend’s help. In photos shared from the soiree, guests made sure to follow the theme with their attire. Still, they failed miserably when following the CDC guidelines like socially distancing and, most importantly, if you can’t social distance, wearing a mask. Atlanta’s Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, has tried her best to urge ATLiens to wear face coverings by is...
EU criticises ‘hasty’ UK approval of coronavirus vaccine
The European Union criticised Britain’s rapid approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, saying its own procedure was more thorough, after Britain became the first western country to endorse a COVID-19 shot. The move to grant emergency authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been seen by many as a political coup for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has led his country out of the EU and faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic. The decision was made under an ultra-fast, emergency approval process, which allowed the British drugs regulator to temporarily authorise the vaccine only ten days after it began examining data from large-scale trials. In an unusually blunt statement, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is in charge of approving COVID...
