Delta variant of COVID-19 dominant in Nigeria – Health minister

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Monday, urged Nigerians to continue adhering to all the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the Federal Government.

He added that the Delta variant of the COVID-19 is now the dominant strain in the country.

The minister, who stated these during the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 media briefing in Abuja, warned that the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was still much around though the number of confirmed cases had reduced in recent times.

Ehanire said all points of entry in the country are under strict supervision in other to prevent the influx of the other variants of the virus from other countries.

He said: “The dreaded third wave of COVID-19 may appear to be levelling out because there had 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.

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“Evidence so far, however, is that the Delta strain is already the dominant one in Nigeria. We must keep our protective measures in place and increase testing to determine our situation.

“There are reports of new COVID-19 mutations circulating in other countries, a development we shall monitor with all the 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 indeed been identified by rapid diagnostic tests and taken care of accordingly.

“All states have received doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for the ongoing second phase of the vaccination exercise in all states while 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 vaccinations 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 percent soon.”

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