COVID vaccines for kids under 12 close to approval: Updates
A federal advisory committee will meet Tuesday to determine whether or not to suggest COVID-19 vaccines to kids ages 5 to 11.
If the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decides the advantages of vaccination outweigh dangers on this age group, the director of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention would make a advice. If Dr. Rochelle Walensky indicators off, vaccines would become available as quickly as Wednesday at pharmacies and pediatricians’ places of work.
The vaccine, which shall be free, could be delivered at one-third the dose given to adolescents and adults, in two photographs at the very least three weeks aside. Solely the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could be out there on this age group. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are nonetheless being examined in adolescents and kids.
In a number of small trials, Pfizer-BioNTech noticed no severe negative effects related with the photographs. However some negative effects are more likely to seem later as tens of millions of kids obtain the vaccine. Typical negative effects, which go away inside a day or two, embrace complications, fatigue, muscle ache, ache on the injection web site and vomiting, nausea or diarrhea.
In a examine of about 2,500 kids, the vaccine was discovered to be greater than 90% efficient at stopping COVID-19. Though kids are far much less more likely to undergo extreme COVID-19 infections than adolescents or adults, they nonetheless can turn into severely unwell and even die and might have signs that linger for months.
Presidential adviser Jeffrey Zients mentioned Monday that the Biden administration had ordered sufficient to vaccinate all 28 million American kids on this 5-11 age group if they’re licensed. The administration’s distribution program shall be “working at full energy” the week of Nov. 8, he mentioned.
Obtained extra questions? Here’s everything you need to know concerning the COVID-19 vaccine and kids
– Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY
Additionally within the information:
►The primary-dose vaccination fee of U.S. adults has reached 80%, and 70% of adults are totally vaccinated, the White Home mentioned Monday.
►9 in 10 Americans identifying as an atheist report being at the very least been partially vaccinated towards the virus, in line with a latest Pew Analysis Middle survey. The quantity was increased than Catholics and Protestants.
►Amazon warehouse workers who’re vaccinated will not be required to put on masks at work beginning Tuesday, CNBC and Reuters reported.
►Pennsylvania is offering five days of paid leave – along with the paid day without work to get vaccinated – to state workers who get their COVID photographs by the tip of the 12 months. The state treasurer mentioned the motivation may value the state greater than $100 million.
►South Dakota has joined Missouri, Nebraska, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wyoming in a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
📈 In the present day’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded 46 million confirmed COVID-19 instances and greater than 747,000 deaths, in accordance to Johns Hopkins University data. International totals: Greater than 247.2 million instances and 5 million deaths. Greater than 192.5million People – 58% of the inhabitants – are totally vaccinated, according to the CDC.
📘 What we’re studying: Coronavirus instances in kids grew by 129% nationwide within the six weeks after colleges opened in contrast with the identical interval earlier than courses began, in line with a USA TODAY evaluation of knowledge from the CDC.
Maintain refreshing this web page for the newest information. Need extra? Sign up for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Watch newsletter to obtain updates on to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Docs put together to shortly roll out COVID-19 vaccine to younger youngsters
In anticipation of this week’s anticipated authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine for younger kids, mother and father desperate to get their elementary school-age kids vaccinated are calling pediatricians, reserving appointments for photographs and asking questions on them.
The anticipated rush of children has prompted pediatricians and clinics at bigger well being methods to request shipments of doses from state and native well being departments, plan weekend clinics to immunize kids and maintain particular occasions to draw households and encourage immunization. Whereas the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout initially relied on mass immunization websites and chain pharmacies from coast to coast, pediatricians are ready to take a larger role.
“I get heaps and plenty of questions,” mentioned Dr. Christina Johns, a pediatrician in Annapolis, Maryland. “Not simply in my observe, but additionally on-line, within the grocery retailer and from neighbors.”
– Ken Alltucker
US sees weekly case depend tick up once more
The pace of new virus cases has risen 5.4% in the United States simply within the final week, a worrying uptick suggesting the delta variant-driven wave hasn’t ended.
The US reported 523,194 new instances within the week ending Monday, after dropping to a latest nadir of 495,194 within the week ending Oct. 26, a USA TODAY evaluation of Johns Hopkins College knowledge present. On the present tempo, the USA is reporting about 52 instances each minute.
The evaluation reveals instances are rising in 23 states, up sharply from as few as eight states only a week in the past.
Earlier than delta started taking maintain round July 1, instances had fallen to lower than 80,000 per week, or lower than one-sixth as a lot now. At their worst within the delta wave, nevertheless, instances had been being reported greater than twice as quick.
Deaths have been falling. Within the week ending Monday, the USA reported 9,119 deaths, or 54 deaths each hour.
– Mike Stucka
De Blasio vows ‘penalties’ for firefighters calling out sick over vaccine mandate
Mayor Invoice de Blasio mentioned New York firefighters faking sick and taking day without work work in protest of town’s vaccine mandate for its workers will face “penalties.”
De Blasio made the remark Monday at a information convention however didn’t specify what would occur. Round 9,000 of town’s employees had been positioned on unpaid depart Monday for failing to satisfy the obligatory vaccination deadline, de Blasio mentioned. Greater than 90% of metropolis workers have been vaccinated.
“Now we have each cause to consider there’s lots of people on the market claiming to be sick, who usually are not. It isn’t acceptable. So, the factor to do is to do the best factor, come to work, shield individuals as you took an oath to do. And look, that is one thing that we do not tolerate. In the long run when individuals do this type of factor, there are penalties,” de Blasio mentioned.
Greater than 2,000 of town’s 11,000 firefighters have taken sick days up to now week, however Hearth Commissioner Daniel Nigro mentioned no firehouses have closed regardless of “irresponsible bogus sick depart by a few of our members (that) is making a hazard for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters.”
Round 77% of firefighters had been vaccinated as of Monday, de Blasio mentioned. The police division, which employs about 36,000 officers and 19,000 civilian workers, had an 84% vaccination fee. Round 88% of EMTs had been vaccinated, and Sanitation’s fee was 83%.
Decide suspends deadline for Chicago cops to get vaccinated
A decide on Monday suspended a Dec. 31 deadline for Chicago law enforcement officials to be vaccinated towards COVID-19 however didn’t intervene with a requirement that they’re recurrently examined.
Disputes over vaccinations ought to be dealt with as a labor grievance with an arbitrator, Prepare dinner County Decide Raymond Mitchell mentioned.
“The impact of this order is to ship these events again to the bargaining desk and to advertise labor peace by permitting them to pursue” cures underneath Illinois legislation, Mitchell mentioned.
The grievance course of may final months, town mentioned final week.
Officers who haven’t been vaccinated nonetheless should be examined twice every week underneath metropolis coverage. Officers can also lose work and pay in the event that they don’t disclose their vaccine standing.
Necessary vaccination for corporations with 100+ workers inches nearer
The controversial Biden administration plan to require corporations with greater than 100 workers to mandate vaccination for his or her employees or require weekly testing cleared one other hurdle Monday when the Workplace of Administration and Funds accomplished its regulatory evaluate.
The plan additionally requires employers to offer paid time to employees to get vaccinated and paid sick depart to recuperate from any negative effects. The Federal Register will publish the emergency short-term commonplace “within the coming days,” the Labor Division mentioned in a press release. It isn’t clear when the mandate would turn into efficient.
Biden introduced the plan in September, and attorneys common in two dozen states shortly despatched the White Home a letter threatening to problem the mandate in courtroom.