President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022 into law which repeals the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Act, Cap N42, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. During the signing ceremony, President Buhari stated that a fund will be set up “to ensure coverage of 83 million poor Nigerians who cannot afford to pay premiums as recommended by the Lancet Nigeria Commission”.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced plans on Tuesday to nearly double the number of pharmacies that carry antiviral pills to combat covid-19 as many consumers report difficulty finding a doctor to prescribe the medication, or a pharmacy that carries it, when they get sick. Dozens have struggled to get Paxlovid pill amid the latest wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible omicron subvariant BA.2 Paxlovid was expected to be a major tool in the battle against COVID after it reduced hospitalizations or deaths in high-risk patients by around 90% in a clinical trial. Beginning from this week pharmacies participating in the federal pharmacy program for distributing antiviral treatments will be able to order the free treatments directly from the U.S. government.
The Nigerian government on Monday received over three million doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Italian government. The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, while acknowledging receipt of the donated vaccine doses in Abuja, highly praised the Italian government for the good gesture. Mr. Shuiab said the donation is also a reflection of the commitment of the Italian government and European delegates to the global efforts in halting the pandemic which has claimed millions of lives. He said the rollout of the J&J vaccine across the country has rapidly improved vaccination coverage.
The Federal Government (FG) has issued a new international travel guideline on COVID-19 which would take effect from Monday, April 4, 2022. This was disclosed on Sunday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha. He said, “This protocol is a revision of the Travel Protocol released on 29th November 2021 Interim Travel Guidelines for Passengers arriving in Nigeria. In-bound passengers to Nigeria, who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, are no longer required to carry out COVID-19 PCR test before boarding Nigeria-bound flights.
 "CIA Director William Burns Tests Positive For COVID-19")
CIA Director William Burns has tested positive for COVID-19, on Thursday after taking a routine PCR test. The CIA said Burns is experiencing mild symptoms and working from home, with plans to return to the office after five days and testing negative. The director is fully vaccinated and boosted. He will continue his duties from home and plans to return to the office after isolating for five days and testing negative for the disease. Burns tested positive to the deadly disease at a critical time as the U.S. aids Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s aggression.
The Federal Government has on Monday announced that fully vaccinated travellers coming into Nigeria will no longer be required to take a pre-departure PCR COVID-19 test. The Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee, Boss Mustapha disclosed this during a press briefing of the PSC, announcing a revision of the International Travel Protocols. Mustapha, however, said the fully vaccinated travellers will be subjected to a free rapid antigen test at the airport by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
