Nigeria dreads another wave, monitors rising cases of new variants in China, US

At Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has said that the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of COVID-19 is monitoring the trend of COVID-19 in countries with “volume of traffic to and from Nigeria.”

The NCDC noted in a statement on Wednesday that countries including China, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa and India are currently struggling with the rise of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and its lineage, dominating the infections recorded in All over the world.

He added that the EOC is also monitoring the resurgence of COVID-19 in China following the relaxation of the country’s zero-covid-19 policy, and an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, admissions, and deaths in the UK and US over the past few weeks. by regular seasonal exacerbations of respiratory diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control also raised concerns that the new Omicron sub-lineage XBB.1.5 in the UK and the US, and BF.7 in China “may spread faster than older Omicron sub-lineages (eg, XBB or BQ) and are responsible for increasing cases, hospitalizations, and deaths today.

The new variant is not in Nigeria

While the NCDC confirmed that the sub-lineages that are partially responsible for the current increase in cases of COVID-19 in other countries (XBB.1.5 and BF.7) have not been detected in Nigeria, it noted that “B.5.2 .1 has been seen since July 2022 and others possibility is here”.

He added that “BF.7 and XBB have also been circulating in South Africa since October 2022, but there has been no increase in cases, severe illness, or deaths.”

The NCDC further noted that since the detection of the Omicron variant in December 2021, the sub-lineage (BQ.1 / BQ.1.1) has been dominant in Nigeria, but “there is no dominant sub-lineage in Nigeria that is also spreading elsewhere. has been associated with an increase number of cases, admissions, or deaths locally.

Statistics

As of January 5, data from the NCDC shows that 266,450 infections and 3,155 deaths have been recorded in Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, while 661,019,881 infections and 6,692,005 deaths have been confirmed globally according to the WHO.

Not being vaccinated is risky

On vaccination, the NCDC reiterated that the most important action for Nigerians is to be vaccinated against COVID-19, “because vaccines are the most important intervention to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death.”

He added that “regardless of the variant of COVID-19 in different regions of the world, severe diseases, admissions and deaths do not affect those who are not vaccinated and those with established risk factors”, such as the elderly, people with co-morbidities -morbidities and immunocompromised.

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The center for disease control said that although the protocols and restrictions of COVID-19 may be eased, people at high risk should continue to adhere to the recommended nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) such as the use of face masks, good hand hygiene and breathing and prevention. from a crowded place.

It was also established that the Omicron sub-lineage associated with the increase in cases, admissions and deaths elsewhere did not cause similar incidents in Nigeria because the population is significantly protected from the combination of natural immunity and vaccination with a vaccine with a high impact on hospitalization. , and death.

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“NCDC will continue to monitor the situation of COVID-19 in other countries and collect additional surveillance data to inform action,” he said.