Health
BREAKING: 90-year-old gets first COVID-19 vaccine in UK
A COVID-19 vaccine has been injected into a patient for the first time in the UK.
ITV News reports that Margaret Keenan, who is from Coventry and will be 91 next week, said, “I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19.
“It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”
The jab, made by US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and German manufacturers BioNTech, will continue to be rolled out in 14 locations across the UK on Tuesday as the country’s biggest vaccination program kicks off.
And fronting the start of the fight back against the coronavirus pandemic is retired jeweller Margaret, who wore a blue Christmas t-shirt as the jab was quickly given without her “feeling a thing.”
With three weeks until her second jab, she should complete her course of injections just after Christmas, with full immunization expected in the first week of January.
Husband and wife Hari and Ranjan Shukla are also set for their first doses on Tuesday in Newcastle and said they feel “the crisis is going to come to an end.”
Shukla, who said he got the call on Friday from his doctor, said on Monday: “It’s an excellent idea, we will certainly do whatever we can because we are very excited about it.
“When we heard that we’ve got the vaccine now, we felt that the crisis is going to come to an end.”
He added, “I was very excited I got the opportunity of joining in and taking part, so we are very, very pleased and happy and excited as well.”
The couple join Margaret among the few to be vaccinated before the New Year, with the government expecting “the majority” of vulnerable people to follow suit in January and February.
Downing Street would not confirm whether they were expecting all 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive by the end of the year.
Croydon University Hospital in south London was one of the first hospitals to take delivery of the vaccine over the weekend, with similar scenes unfolding around the country ahead of the rollout.
Around 25 million people are covered by the 10 priority categories set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
The first vaccinations will go to care home staff and residents, NHS frontline workers and people aged 80 and over – around six million people.
But Westminster stressed that two further vaccines were still being assessed by regulators, which could boost the number of doses available.
There are 800,000 doses in the first tranche, meaning 400,000 people will be vaccinated initially.
Health
Just In: Nigeria receives 846,000 malaria vaccine doses
Just In: Nigeria receives 846,000 malaria vaccine doses
Nigeria has received 846,000 doses of a groundbreaking malaria vaccine from development partners to reduce the country’s high incidence of the disease, especially among children and other vulnerable groups.
Prof. Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, announced during the event on Thursday in Abuja that the vaccines were expected to play a pivotal role in lowering malaria-related deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that large clinical trials in Africa proved the vaccine, RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) as effective in reducing contracting malaria cases and mortality among young children.
Nigeria is the third African country to introduce the vaccine, following Ghana and Kenya, which began using it in 2023.
Malaria affects 97 per cent of Nigeria’s population. Its transmission occurs year-round in southern regions and lasts up to three months in the northern regions.
The primary malaria vectors are Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae, with Anopheles funestus playing a secondary role in some areas.
The vaccines come as Nigeria intensifies efforts to reduce malaria-related deaths under the National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) 2021–2025.
Pate said the vaccine would significantly boost the country’s ongoing malaria elimination efforts.
“Our target is to prioritize regions most affected by malaria, particularly in rural areas where access to healthcare is limited,” he said.
He also said the vaccine rollout would begin in high-burden regions before expanding nationwide.
According to him, global health partners, including WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, are providing technical and financial support to ensure the successful implementation of the vaccine.
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Just In: Nigeria receives 846,000 malaria vaccine doses
Health
Cholera ravages 28 LGs in Kano, kills 45
Cholera ravages 28 LGs in Kano, kills 45
The Coordinator of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC), Prof. Muhammad Adam Abbas, has revealed that a recent cholera outbreak has claimed 45 lives across 28 local government areas in the state.
He stated this on Tuesday at a retreat organised by the Kano State’s Ministry of Health in Kaduna.
According to Prof. Abbas, cholera thrives in environments with poor sanitary conditions, and maintaining high standards of personal and food hygiene is vital in combating its transmission.
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He advised that frequent handwashing, maintaining a clean environment, thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables and proper food storage are essential preventive measures.
He also highlighted the increased risk during the rainy season, as running water can wash contaminants, including dirt and faeces, into low-lying wells.
To mitigate this, he recommended building parapet embankments around wells to prevent contamination.
Prof. Abbas further noted that the government is taking proactive steps to control the outbreak, including chlorinating water sources in communities with poor sanitation and those affected by the disease.
Cholera ravages 28 LGs in Kano, kills 45
Health
Breakthrough in wound healing, electric suture creates excitement
Breakthrough in wound healing, electric suture creates excitement
A new type of suture that combines electrical stimulation with traditional suturing methods has been developed.
It has been demonstrated that this mechanoelectric suture, which is constructed from biodegradable materials and generates electric fields in response to movement, significantly accelerates wound healing and lowers the risk of infection.
This innovative approach could revolutionise wound closure procedures and offer patients a faster and safer healing process.
In an experiment in rats, the new strong, flexible thread hastened wound healing by transforming muscle movement into electricity, researchers report in Nature Communications.
According to materials scientist Chengyi Hou of Shanghai’s Donghua University, the substance “could change how we treat injuries” if it is finally shown to be safe for use in humans.
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Although prior methods depended on large external batteries, researchers already knew that applying electricity to sutures helped accelerate the healing process. The body provides the energy for the new sutures.
The thread is composed of magnesium, a metal that the body may eventually absorb, and biodegradable polymers. The central layer of the thread rubs against the outer shell when the muscles around the sutures contract and relax, which transfers electrons to the shell and produces electricity.
Hou and colleagues used the thread’s electrical stimulation to treat artificial wounds in lab dishes. After 24 hours, fibroblasts, which are critical to healing, reduced the wound area from 69 percent to 11 percent. Untreated artificial wounds reduced in size from 69 percent to 33 percent after 24 hours.
Rodents treated with electrical sutures recovered faster and were less likely to acquire infections than rats treated with regular sutures or left untreated. Next, the team intends to try the sutures on bigger animals.
Breakthrough in wound healing, electric suture create excitement
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