Health officials in the UK have made no reference to keeping alcohol consumption to the minimum in order to receive the jab.
But a leading Russian scientist involved in the development of the Sputnik V vaccine has said it is “strongly” advised against for any jab.
Dr Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, told New Scientist: “We strongly recommend refraining from alcohol for three days after each injection.”
Officials in Russia have asked citizens there to lay off the booze if they want an injection.
Russia was one of the first countries to announce a vaccine, which was named after the Soviet Union's satellite which became the first manmade object in space.
It was announced before beginning its final clinical trials - and it remains uncertified while in its third stage of testing involving some 40,000 volunteers.
The Sputnik V vaccine takes 42 days to become effective, during which time people should stop drinking, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova.
Dr Anna Popova, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, which is helping to co-ordinate Russia’s response to Covid-19, suggested going cold turkey for two weeks before their first shot, and for three weeks after their second.
Given there are three weeks between the two jabs, she was suggesting someone quit the booze for around eight weeks.
Dr Gintsburg said this was too stringent, and suggested a “reasonable limitation” rather than a “complete ban”.
A glass of champagne during the festive period should be fine, but a binge drinking session is likely to have a negative effect.
In the UK, guidelines advise men and women to stick to 14 units of alcohol per week to avoid the harms of alcohol, which is about 6-8 cans of beer or one to two bottles of wine depending on the strength of the alcohol.
Dr Gintsburg claimed: “It is important to understand that excessive alcohol consumption can significantly reduce immunity and therefore reduce the effectiveness of vaccination or even make it meaningless."
He claimed that heavy alcohol "supresses antibodies", which are the proteins in blood that help attack the virus.
“Moreover, this is true not only for Sputnik V, but also for any other vaccine", Dr Gintsburg said.
He said it was “quite obvious” to avoid booze for any Covid-19 vaccine, despite no other research team warning against it so far.
How much alcohol is recommended?
To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:
men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week
if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
Fourteen units of alcohol a week equates to six small glasses of wine, six pints of lager or five pints of cider.
Look at the NHS website to work out how many units are in your favourite drink.
It’s well known that alcohol in large quantities can make the immune system weaker, because alcoholics are more likely to catch infections.
“Heavy drinkers have many problems and poor immune function is one of them,” immunologist Eleanor Riley at the University of Edinburgh said.
Dr Popova warned alcohol would reduce the body’s ability to build up immunity to Covid-19 because “it’s a strain on the body”.
“If we want to be healthy and have a strong immune response, don’t drink alcohol,” she said.
Both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and NHS say long-term alcohol use can impact immune activity.
NHS Inform says: “Choosing to cut back on how much you drink may help reduce related health risks and complications linked to coronavirus.
“Alcohol can reduce the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and have an impact on the health of your heart and lungs.”
But the specifics surrounding Covid infection and alcohol consumption remain unconfirmed, however, because this has not been studied.
Just because the body of a heavy drinker does not fight an infection, does not mean it wouldn’t kick into action in response to a vaccine.
Paul Klenerman at the University of Oxford said there was no evidence to support going teetotal before your jab.
He said: “There’s no doubt that chronic excess alcohol has a significant impact on many aspects of immunity.
“What isn’t clear is whether just a small amount would have any significant effect in [real-life settings]. So it is plausible and you could simply be very cautious and say avoid it. Different countries might end up giving different guidance.”
About 10 per cent of people don’t become immune after receiving the Sputnik V vaccine, trials have found.
It was five per cent for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, and 30 per cent for the Oxford jab, on average.
The reasons for this are unknown and the studies did not measure whether there was a link with how much alcohol the participants consumed.
Studies suggest alcohol consumption has increased in the UK during the pandemic, a result of strained mental health, boredom and the closure of pubs.
Pfizer has said that there is no warning concerning alcohol consumption given to those receiving the vaccine it has developed with BioNTech.
AstraZeneca, which has signed a deal to collaborate with the Sputnik V project, didn’t respond to a request from New Scientist for information on alcohol and vaccination.
The Sun contacted the MHRA for comment.
AstraZeneca to combine Oxford Covid jab with Russia’s once-ridiculed Sputnik vaccine in new trials
Singapore has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s novel coronavirus vaccine and expects to receive shots by year-end, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, adding that he planned to be among the early vaccine recipients.
Meanwhile, South Korea ordered schools to close from Tuesday in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas as it battles its worst outbreak of novel coronavirus since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous peak in February.
US President Donald Trump says top government officials will not be inoculated early against COVID-19, tweeting: “People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program.”
Here are the latest updates:
Germany will get 11 million doses of BioNTech vaccine by March
Germany expects to receive 11 million doses of BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine by March, the health ministry announced.
In January alone, three million to four million doses of the vaccine will be provided for inoculations in Germany, a ministry spokesman said.
Swiss report 10,726 new coronavirus cases over three days
Coronavirus infections rose by 10,726 since Friday, data from Swiss health authorities showed .
The total number of confirmed cases in Switzerland and neighbouring principality Liechtenstein increased to 384,557, including from mass testing in the Swiss canton of Grisons conducted Friday through Sunday.
The death toll rose by 193 to 5,589, while 445 new hospitalisations kept pressure on the healthcare system, as hospital directors write to Health Minister Alain Berset expressing their concerns.
Study adds to debate over Gilead’s remdesivir for COVID-19
A single-patient study conducted by British scientists has found that Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir could be highly effective against COVID-19, raising questions about previous studies that found it had no impact on death rates from the disease.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study describes how doctors who gave the drug to a patient with both COVID-19 and a rare immune disorder saw a marked improvement in his symptoms and the disappearance of the virus.
“Our patient’s unusual condition gave us a rare insight into the effectiveness of remdesivir as a treatment for coronavirus infection,” said Nicholas Matheson, who co-led the study at Cambridge University’s Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.
Hospitals in S Korea struggle with bed shortages amid COVID19 spike
Civic and labor groups have urged the government to mobilise more beds and medical personnel from private hospitals to cope with hospital bed shortage amid a recent surge in coronavirus cases.
Public hospitals have received most local COVID-19 patients but have now reached the saturation point, according to media reports.
The number of newly confirmed cases hovers around 1,000 per day.
Singapore approves Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine
Singapore has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s novel coronavirus vaccine and expects to receive shots by year-end, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, adding that he planned to be among the early vaccine recipients.
The city-state of 5.7 million people expects to have enough vaccines for everyone by the third quarter of 2021 and will make it free for citizens and long-term residents, Lee, 68, said.
Vaccination will be voluntary.
PM Lee Hsien Loong said he and other government officials would be among the early recipients after healthcare workers, other front-line personnel, the elderly and the vulnerable [File: Edgar Su/Reuters]
Japan to suspend ‘Go To’ subsidised travel programme
The Japanese government has decided to suspend a travel subsidy programme dubbed “Go To Travel” from Dec. 28 to Jan. 11 nationwide, local media reported, responding to concerns about its impact on the spread of the coronavirus.
Media had widely reported earlier that the suspension would cover only the hardest-hit cities and regions such as the capital, Tokyo, and Nagoya, in central Japan.
Medical experts in Nigeria warn of second wave of COVID-19
Medical experts have warned that Nigeria will likely record a large increase in COVID-19 figures.
A principle reason for a potential second wave is because many people have abandoned safety precautions in recent weeks, according to professor of virology Oyewale Tomori.
Chief executive officer and director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, told The Guardian: “There is the risk of a ‘second wave’ and many countries have begun to experience a spike in cases.”
South Korea orders schools to shut as COVID-19 cases spike
South Korea ordered schools to close from Tuesday in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas as it battles its worst outbreak of novel coronavirus since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous peak in February.
Schools in the capital region would move classes online until the end of the month, in the latest ratcheting up of social distancing measures which so far have failed to reverse the spike in infections.
The school closure is a step towards the imposition of Phase 3 social distancing rules, a move that would essentially lock down Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Ireland may need to reimpose COVID-19 curbs in January
Ireland may need to reimpose some COVID-19 restrictions in January, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said, after health chiefs warned that cases may be rising again following the reopening of most of the economy in the last two weeks.
“You could very well be looking at some further restrictions in January,” Martin told national broadcaster RTE, noting that the curbs lifted this month were not as strict as the initial lockdown.
He said the government would consult widely before making any decisions.
French central bank sees recovery taking longer
The French central bank said that it expects the country’s economy to recover more slowly than previously and return to its pre-pandemic level only in mid-2022.
The forecast is based on the COVID-19 pandemic not dying down immediately and widespread vaccination not being achieved before the end of 2021.
The Banque de France now sees economic output falling by nine percent this year, with a rebound of five percent in 2021.
Russia reports 27,328 new coronavirus cases
Russia confirmed 27,328 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 5,874 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,681,256.
Authorities said 450 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 47,391.
Japan picks the kanji character to define coronavirus year
Japan selected a kanji character used to encourage social distancing as its defining symbol for 2020, highlighting a catchphrase used extensively during the coronavirus pandemic that even inspired its own computer game.
The character “mitsu”, meaning “congested” or “dense”, was derived from a buzzword “San-mitsu”, which was central to Japan’s approach to the containing the pandemic.
Translated as “Three Cs” in English, it refers to avoiding closed spaces, crowds and close contacts.
Mexico registers more than 8,600 new coronavirus cases
Mexico’s health ministry reported 8,608 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 249 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 1,250,044 cases and 113,953 deaths.
The government says the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
Germany likely to avert second recession despite new lockdown
Germany will likely be able to avoid another recession despite a second national lockdown in the coronavirus pandemic, due to start on Wednesday, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said.
“I hope we can prevent a complete economic standstill in the second wave of the pandemic,” he told public radio Deutschlandfunk.
CureVac enrols first participant in pivotal study of COVID vaccine
Germany’s CureVac announced that it has enrolled the first participant in the Phase 2b/3 study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The trial will assess the safety and efficacy in adults and is expected to include more than 35,000 participants in Europe and Latin America, it added in a statement
World’s top glove maker says Malaysia worker died from COVID-19
Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp has reported that a worker died on Saturday due to COVID-19, the first death since the outbreak at its dormitories and factories in October.
The world’s largest glove maker told Reuters in an email that the 29-year-old worker from Nepal had worked at its manufacturing facility in Klang, 40 km west of the capital Kuala Lumpur, for more than two years.
The outbreak at Top Glove’s facilities in which more than 5,000 workers tested positive was Malaysia’s largest cluster.
South Korea reported 718 new coronavirus cases, a drop from the record daily increase of the day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Of the new cases, 682 were locally transmitted. The total tally is now 43,484 infections, with 587 deaths.
Trump says he’s nixing plan for early vaccine at White House
President Donald Trump says he is reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19, while public distribution of the shot is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Trump made the announcement hours after his administration confirmed that senior US officials, including some White House aides who work in close proximity to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, would be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week under federal continuity of government plans.
“People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,” Trump said in a tweet. “I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time.”
People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary. I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 16,362
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 16,362 to 1,337,078, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.
The reported death toll rose by 188 to 21,975, the tally showed.
Eswatini PM who tested positive for COVID-19 dies
Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago, has died at age 52 after being hospitalised in neighbouring South Africa, the tiny absolute monarchy’s government said.
“Their Majesties have commanded that I inform the Nation of the sad and untimely passing away of His Excellency the Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini. His Excellency passed on this afternoon while under medical care in a hospital in South Africa”, Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said in a statement.
The US has issued an emergency order after revealing that its treasury and commerce departments had been hacked.
All federal civilian agencies have been told to disconnect from SolarWinds, a computer network tool that is being exploited by "malicious actors".
The US has not publicly identified who is behind the attack.
The incident comes less than a week after cyber security firm FireEye disclosed that its hacking tools had been stolen in a breach.
In its order, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) said the current hack had a high potential to compromise government systems.
Tech firm SolarWinds, which designed the tool, said on Twitter that users of its Orion platform should upgrade immediately to address a "security vulnerability".
FireEye revealed in a blog post it had identified "a global campaign" from earlier this year to compromise the computer networks of private and public organisations by inserting malicious code into software updates.
The firm said this included updates to SolarWinds Orion, which give attackers remote access to the victims' environment.
It added that the campaign demonstrated "top-tier operations tradecraft and resources" consistent with state-sponsored attackers.
Three people familiar with investigations into the most recent attack told Reuters news agency that Russia is believed to be behind the hack.
Coronavirus deaths have been rising sharply since November in the US, with a world-record daily increase of 3,309 reported on Saturday.
The vaccine's rollout has been framed as a turning point in the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken the lives of almost 300,000 people in the US.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said its emergency-use authorisation of the vaccine, announced on Friday, was a "significant milestone" in the pandemic, after coming under intense pressure from the Trump administration to approve the jab.
One aim of the programme was to build public confidence in the vaccine, he said.
"The American people should have confidence that they are receiving the same safe and effective vaccine as senior officials of the United States government on the advice of public health professionals and national security leadership," Mr Ullyot said.
But Mr Trump on Sunday suggested that top officials would now have to wait longer.
It was not immediately clear what effect Mr Trump's tweet would have on the government's efforts to protect top officials, AP news agency reports.
The US president, who contracted coronavirus in October and recovered after treatment in hospital, said he was not yet scheduled to take the vaccine but looked forward to doing so "at the appropriate time".
He has previously claimed to be "immune", even though medical experts say it is unclear whether people who have recovered from Covid-19 are protected from a second infection, and if so, how long this protection might last.
There have been a number of coronavirus outbreaks in the White House, with several senior staffers and officials testing positive for the disease.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.
It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity.
"The vaccine contains a small piece of the [Covid-19] virus's mRNA that instructs cells in the body to make the virus's distinctive 'spike' protein," the FDA said.
"When a person receives this vaccine, their body produces copies of the spike protein, which does not cause disease, but triggers the immune system to learn to react defensively, producing an immune response against [Covid-19]."
The vaccine is given as two injections, 21 days apart, with the second dose being a booster. Immunity begins to kick in after the first dose but reaches its full effect seven days after the second dose.
The vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures, which makes distribution difficult. Special shipping containers that use dry ice will be used to transport frozen vials direct to the point of vaccination, Pfizer says.
The pharmaceutical company has agreed a deal to supply the US with 100 million doses of the vaccine by March.
An additional 200 million doses of a second vaccine, developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health, will be provided by June. However this vaccine is still seeking approval in the US.
Coronavirus deaths have been rising sharply since November in the US, with a world-record daily increase of 3,309 reported on Saturday.
The vaccine's rollout has been framed as a turning point in the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken the lives of almost 300,000 people in the US.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said its emergency-use authorisation of the vaccine, announced on Friday, was a "significant milestone" in the pandemic, after coming under intense pressure from the Trump administration to approve the jab.
One aim of the programme was to build public confidence in the vaccine, he said.
"The American people should have confidence that they are receiving the same safe and effective vaccine as senior officials of the United States government on the advice of public health professionals and national security leadership," Mr Ullyot said.
But Mr Trump on Sunday suggested that top officials would now have to wait longer.
It was not immediately clear what effect Mr Trump's tweet would have on the government's efforts to protect top officials, AP news agency reports.
The US president, who contracted coronavirus in October and recovered after treatment in hospital, said he was not yet scheduled to take the vaccine but looked forward to doing so "at the appropriate time".
He has previously claimed to be "immune", even though medical experts say it is unclear whether people who have recovered from Covid-19 are protected from a second infection, and if so, how long this protection might last.
There have been a number of coronavirus outbreaks in the White House, with several senior staffers and officials testing positive for the disease.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.
It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity.
"The vaccine contains a small piece of the [Covid-19] virus's mRNA that instructs cells in the body to make the virus's distinctive 'spike' protein," the FDA said.
"When a person receives this vaccine, their body produces copies of the spike protein, which does not cause disease, but triggers the immune system to learn to react defensively, producing an immune response against [Covid-19]."
The vaccine is given as two injections, 21 days apart, with the second dose being a booster. Immunity begins to kick in after the first dose but reaches its full effect seven days after the second dose.
The vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures, which makes distribution difficult. Special shipping containers that use dry ice will be used to transport frozen vials direct to the point of vaccination, Pfizer says.
The pharmaceutical company has agreed a deal to supply the US with 100 million doses of the vaccine by March.
An additional 200 million doses of a second vaccine, developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health, will be provided by June. However this vaccine is still seeking approval in the US.
The gunman opened fire at 4pm EST at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan. A 45-minute long concert had just finished when locals reported shots were fired. Police officers then swarmed to the scene and took down the armed attacker. No one but the gunman was reported to be injured, with the attacker dying at hospital after being taken in critical condition.
The gunman opened fire on Amsterdam Avenue just as church goers exited the cathedral.
Local reports stated that locals began running down the streets away from the gunfire as officers who had been on hand to provide security quickly moved in.
They quickly shot the attacker before a large group of NYPD officers approached the position with their guns drawn.
ABC news reported the officers shouted “don’t move” at the suspected attacker, before calling in an ambulance.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea delivered a press conference after the shooting and updated the media on the incident.
He said: “It was an annual event that they host. Thankfully, this year, because of covid it was a much smaller event than normal.
At about 3pm there was Christmas carolling on the steps behind me, at about 3:45pm that carolling came to a close. It was at about that time at 3:45pm when shots from an individual, if you look behind me, right in front of those massive doors. An individual firing shots.
Commissioner Shea then said he had on officer, a community affairs detective and a nearby sergeant respond to the incident “almost immediately”, with the officials firing 15 shots.
He continued: “The defendant is struck at least once in the head and deceased, he was then moved to the hospital around the corner.”
Lisa Schubert, a cathedral spokeswoman, spoke to the New York Times about the incident.
She said: “It was just beautiful, and then at the end this person started shooting. Everybody is in shock.
“The shooter could have killed a lot of people. There were hundreds of people here and he shot at least 20 times.”
It remains unclear whether the gunman had fired into the crowd or into the air.
Desperate parents have gathered at a secondary school in Nigeria on Sunday, begging authorities to locate the hundreds of boys abducted from there by gunmen.
While exact figures are yet to be determined, more than 300 students from the all-boys Government Science school in Kankara in Nigeria's northwestern Katsina state are thought to be missing after being taken by men reportedly armed with AK-47s on Friday night.
Abubakar Lawal travelled to the school from Zaria, a city 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Kanara. Two of his three sons who attend the institution were among the missing.
'From yesterday I was here, praying that the almighty Allah should rescue our people,' he told Reuters news agency from outside the dusty school grounds.
One of his missing sons, 17-year-old Buhari, was named after President Muhammadu Buhari, a native of Katsina state.
Desperate parents have gathered at a secondary school in Nigeria on Sunday, begging authorities to locate the hundreds of boys abducted from there by gunmen
Yahaya, a 17-year-old student, told Reuters he escaped on Saturday. He gave only one name for fear of reprisals.
He said he sneaked away while the kidnappers transferred students to different locations in a forest close to the school.
'We met someone with a motorcycle who brought us to a nearby village,' He said. 'From there someone brought us to Kankara.'
He added that group leaders told the men not to harm them.
President Buhari's spokesman Garba Shehu issued a statement saying the military, supported by airpower, had located the bandits' enclave in Zango/Paula forest in the Kankara area, and there have been exchanges of gunfire in an ongoing operation.
'Our prayers are with the families of the students, the school authorities and the injured,' said the president's statement.
It did not say if any students have been rescued.
While exact figures are yet to be determined, more than 300 students from the all-boys Government Science school in Kankara in Nigeria's northwestern Katsina state are thought to be missing after being taken by men reportedly armed with AK-47s on Friday night. Pictured: Anxious relatives await news outside the school
It is not clear exactly how many boys have been taken or how many normally attend the school.
State spokesman Abdul Labaran has said authorities 'will not rest' until the children are found, adding that military and intelligence chiefs were in Kankara to lead the rescue.
He said 321 students were missing, but added that some could have gone home to other states.
Katsina State police spokesman Gambo Isah earlier gave the total number of missing children as about 400 and said that about 600 boys were thought to have attended the school.
State governor Aminu Bello Masari gave different figures, saying that 839 boys attended the school and 333 were yet to be accounted for.
Relatives have been waiting at the school and praying for the safe return of their children
'The police, Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force are working closely with the school authorities to ascertain the actual number of the missing and/or kidnapped students,' said Isah.
'Search parties are working with a view to find or rescue the missing students.'
Masari said that the exact numbers were still being worked out as boys were 'still coming out of the forest' having either escaped the gunmen or fled and hid when the attack began.
'Up until this moment, no one can give a precise figure of the children abducted,' he said.
It is not clear exactly how many boys have been taken or how many normally attend the school as officials and escapees have given varying figures. Pictured: Relatives gather at the school
Osama Aminu Maale was one of the students who escaped the abductors and returned to his parents.
'There were a total of 520 of us that were taken by the gunmen from the school,' the 18-year old student, told AFP news agency on the phone.
'After they took us away we stopped inside the bus where they made the older students take a headcount. We counted 520,' he said.
The hostages were split into groups and before Maale and four others escaped.
'One of the gunmen hit me repeatedly when I failed to keep up with the rest of the group due to my failing health before he let me trail behind, giving me the chance to escape', he said.
All state schools in Katsina have been ordered to close because officials do not know the attackers' motives, the education commissioner said.
UNICEF condemned the 'brutal attack' on the school in a statement on Sunday, calling for the 'immediate and unconditional release of all children and their return to their families'.
The military has now located the group, according to a statement by President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesman, but all relatives can do for now is wait
Attacks by armed gangs, widely known as bandits, are common throughout northwestern Nigeria.
The groups attack civilians, stealing or kidnapping them for ransom. Islamist militants are more common in the northeast.
There is growing anger with the precarious security situation in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.
Late last month, Islamist militants killed scores of farmers in northeastern Borno, beheading some of them.
Nigeria's most serious school attack came in April 2014, when members of the jihadist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their school dormitory in Chibok in northeastern Borno State.
About 100 of the girls are still missing.
UNICEF said it was 'deeply concerned about these acts of violence.'
'Attacks on schools are a violation of children's rights. This is a grim reminder that abductions of children and widespread grave violations of children's rights continue to take place in northern Nigeria.'