Thursday, March 28, 2024

Pfizer asks FDA to clear latest vaccination shot for kids under 5


San Francisco units up shot clinics at colleges as winter surge arrives 

San Francisco well being officers are establishing vaccination pop-up clinics at elementary colleges to encourage booster photographs because the winter COVID-19 surge takes maintain. The new bivalent booster, concentrating on each omicron and earlier strains of the coronavirus, will likely be out there at designated elementary colleges this month, prioritizing college district households however welcoming others, the Department of Public Health mentioned. Flu photographs additionally will likely be out there. Appointments, inspired however not required, will be made right here.  If potential, individuals ought to deliver their COVID-19 vaccine data. Afternoon and night clinics are set for: Dec. 6 at El Dorado Elementary School, Dec. 7 at Paul Revere Elementary School, Dec. 9 at Bret Harte Elementary School, Dec. 12 at Gordon Lau Elementary School, and Dec. 14 at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Kids up to fifth grade who get photographs can win a $100 present card.
Uptake of the latest COVID booster has been gradual in California and nationwide. Fewer than 1 in 10 eligible Californians have obtained the bivalent booster. Flu shot numbers are also down nationwide.

San Francisco units up shot clinics at colleges as winter surge arrives 

San Francisco well being officers are establishing vaccination pop-up clinics at elementary schools to encourage booster photographs because the winter COVID-19 surge takes maintain. The new bivalent booster, concentrating on each omicron and earlier strains of the coronavirus, will likely be out there at designated elementary colleges this month, prioritizing college district households however welcoming others, the Department of Public Health mentioned. Flu photographs additionally will likely be out there. Appointments, inspired however not required, can be made here.  If potential, individuals ought to deliver their COVID-19 vaccine data. Afternoon and night clinics are set for: Dec. 6 at El Dorado Elementary School, Dec. 7 at Paul Revere Elementary School, Dec. 9 at Bret Harte Elementary School, Dec. 12 at Gordon Lau Elementary School, and Dec. 14 at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Kids up to fifth grade who get photographs can win a $100 present card.
Uptake of the latest COVID booster has been gradual in California and nationwide. Fewer than 1 in 10 eligible Californians have obtained the bivalent booster. Flu shot numbrs are also down nationwide.

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People being hospitalized didn’t get up to date booster shot, says U.S. well being chief

Slow uptake of the up to date COVID-19 vaccine is driving a brand new wave of hospitalizations and deaths, particularly amongst seniors. “The people who are dying today are principally people who are unvaccinated or haven’t gotten an up-to-date vaccine,” Xavier Becerra, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, mentioned Thursday in an online forum with the Public Policy Institute of California. He mentioned about 300 to 400 individuals die due to the virus every day, the equal of “a jetliner in America crashing every day, killing everyone on board.” Waning vaccine immunity is a critical concern for the winter when infections are anticipated to surge, he mentioned.

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Only 35% of Californians 65 and up have obtained the bivalent omicron-targeting vaccine because it turned out there in September. About one in 5 50- to 64-year-olds have gotten it. “We’ve seen a test positivity that’s now over 10%,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, California well being secretary, advised the discussion board. “In those first months of COVID, we would have been aghast at that and today somehow we accept it as OK. We see hospitalization numbers going up pretty quickly.” Booster uptake has improved prior to now few days as infections unfold, he added: Californians are “starting to see the reality of the threat.” Ghaly urged cautious habits over the vacations — staying house if sick, and masking up in indoor public areas. “This isn’t the time to let down your guard,” he mentioned. It’s higher to get a booster shot as we speak than tomorrow, he added.

China eases some controls, however nation is ‘not ready for a fast reopening yet’

China is easing a number of the world’s most stringent anti-virus controls and authorities say new variants are weaker, however will not be saying when the “zero-COVID” technique would possibly finish, regardless of latest protests. On Monday, commuters in Beijing and a minimum of 16 different cities have been allowed to board buses and subways and not using a virus take a look at within the earlier 48 hours for the primary time in months. Industrial facilities together with Guangzhou close to Hong Kong have reopened markets and companies and lifted most curbs on motion whereas preserving restrictions on neighborhoods with infections. The adjustments seem geared toward mollifying public anger.

Health specialists and economists warn it is going to be mid-2023 and probably 2024 earlier than vaccination charges are excessive sufficient and hospitals are ready to deal with a potential rash of infections. “China is not ready for a fast reopening yet,” Morgan Stanley economists mentioned in a report Monday. “Restrictions could still tighten dynamically in lower-tier cities should hospitalizations surge.” China is the one main nation nonetheless targeted on tight mandates to stamp out transmission whereas others calm down restrictions and check out to dwell with the virus that has killed a minimum of 6.6 million individuals and contaminated virtually 650 million.

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Pfizer asks FDA to clear shot for kids under 5

Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to authorize its updated COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5 — not as a booster however as a part of their preliminary photographs, the Associated Press experiences. Children ages 6 months by way of 4 years are supposed to get three extra-small doses of the unique Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine — every a tenth of the quantity adults obtain — as their major collection. If the Food and Drug Administration agrees, a dose of Pfizer’s bivalent omicron-targeting vaccine can be substituted for their third shot. Pfizer and its associate BioNTech mentioned Monday which will assist forestall extreme sickness and hospitalization from COVID-19 in little kids when youngsters’s hospitals are already filled with kids hit by different respiratory diseases. Few of the nation’s youngest youngsters have gotten their COVID-19 vaccinations for the reason that photographs have been OK’d in June: Just 2% of tots under 2 and about 4% of 2- to 4-year-olds have gotten their major doses to this point, in accordance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Racial disparity in accuracy of pulse oximeters causes concern

Health specialists are expressing considerations that reliance on pulse oximeters as a device in coronavirus analysis regardless of proof they can provide inaccurate readings for darker-skinned sufferers. According to a Sutter examine, these inaccuracies led to almost five-hour remedy delays for Black COVID-19 sufferers, and will have contributed to the dying disparities plaguing the Black group for the reason that starting of the pandemic in March 2020. Read extra about what experts say should be done regarding this commonly used device.

California Rep. McCarthy threatens Pentagon {dollars} in bid to finish army vaccine mandate

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy mentioned Sunday that if the army doesn’t carry the requirement that service members be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, Republicans will withhold votes from the annual protection authorization invoice. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, however, spoke firmly ovr the weekend in support of the mandate to protect the troops’ health. McCarthy, who seeks to be House speaker when Republicans assume management subsequent 12 months, mentioned he talked to President Biden about it just a few days in the past. “We’re working through what is the national defense bill; we will secure lifting that vaccine mandate on our military. Because what we’re finding is they’re kicking out men and women that have been serving,” McCarthy said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” He mentioned Biden “worked with me” on the matter.

Pressed on whether or not the mandate would undoubtedly be lifted, McCarthy replied: “Yes, it will. Otherwise the bill will not move.” White House officers confirmed the president told McCarthy he “would consider” lifting the mandate, however nothing was resolved, the Washington Post reported. A White House spokesperson additionally acknowledged Biden helps Austin’s advice to retain it. Austin, who final 12 months directed all troops get vaccinated or face potential expulsion from the army, advised reporters on Saturday, “A million people died in the United States of America,” from the coronavirus. “We lost hundreds in DOD. So this mandate has kept people healthy. … “I support continuation of vaccinating the troops.” Congress is exploring whether or not to carry the mandate as a concession to win GOP votes for the very important, roughly $800 billion protection invoice.

Bay Area wastewater reveals large new surge underway

Surveys of coronavirus ranges in Bay Area wastewater recommend that one other COVID-19 surge will not be solely underway however poised to prime this summer season’s omicron BA.5 wave by way of the variety of individuals at the moment contaminated. While official case numbers present a pointy uptick, they don’t seize the true scale of the virus as a result of a majority of individuals use house checks, the outcomes of which aren’t reported to county or state public well being authorities. State knowledge reveals that viral ranges in wastewater collected from the Oceanside sewer shed in San Francisco present the virus gene copies per gram of wastewater solids are rising sharply and are already on the identical degree they have been in July close to the height of the summer season surge. Samples from the Alameda and Central Contra Costa sewer sheds present an identical spike with a near-vertical rise on the graph between Nov. 1 to Dec. 1. 

China sees 2 new virus deaths as authorities begins pulling again a bit on restrictions

China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities transfer cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following more and more vocal public frustrations, the Associated Press reported. The National Health Commission mentioned one dying was reported every within the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about whether or not the victims had been totally vaccinated. China, is the final main nation attempting to cease coronavirus transmission utterly by way of quarantines, lockdowns and mass testing. Concerns over vaccination charges are believed to determine prominently within the ruling Communist Party’s willpower to stick to its hard-line technique. While 9 in 10 Chinese have been vaccinated, solely 66% of individuals over 80 have gotten one shot whereas 40% have obtained a booster, in accordance to the fee. It mentioned 86% of individuals over 60 are vaccinated. 

Soccer legend contaminated, household says

 Brazilian soccer nice Pelé, three-time World Cup winner, has been hospitalized since Tuesday to deal with a respiratory an infection aggravated by COVID-19, two of his daughters and one grandson mentioned. They added that the 82-year-old is under no imminent threat of dying. Kely and Flavia Nascimento and Arthur Arantes do Nascimento mentioned in an interview aired Sunday evening that Pelé, who can be present process chemotherapy in his battle in opposition to most cancers, is predicted to go away the hospital in Sao Paulo as soon as he totally recovers from the respiratory an infection. The hospital mentioned Saturday that Pelé is responding nicely to remedy for the an infection and his well being situation had not worsened over the earlier 24 hours. The hospital didn’t concern any statements on the previous footballer’s well being Sunday.

California urges households to take a look at kids earlier than they return to college after winter break

California is offering free at-home COVID-19 checks to Okay-12 colleges in California to be used earlier than coming back from winter break. State well being and training officers urge dad and mom to contact their kids’ colleges to study concerning the #OTCCOVID19Testing program, and to go to https://schools.covid19.ca.gov. Socializing and household gatherings inside throughout the chilly winter break days pose a better threat for COVID-19 transmission, particularly with new variants circulating which are considerably resistent to vaccines.

Basketball star Jeremy Lin fined in China over criticisms of quarantine amenities

Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, who plays for a Chinese team, was fined 10,000 yuan ($1,400) for criticizing coronavirus quarantine amenities, China’s skilled league and a news report mentioned, as the federal government tries to cease protests in opposition to anti-virus controls which are among the many world’s most stringent. The Shanghai news outlet The Paper reported Lin posted a video complaining about lodge exercise amenities forward of video games in Zhuji, a metropolis south of Shanghai. “Can you believe this is a weight room?” Lin was quoted as saying. “What kind of garbage is this?” The Paper mentioned the video was deleted after “the situation was clarified” that the lodge was solely for a quick keep required by rules. Lin made “inappropriate remarks about quarantine hotel-related facilities” the place his group stayed final week forward of a sport, the China Basketball Association introduced. It mentioned that “caused adverse effects on the league and the competition area.”

The ruling Communist Party is attempting to crush criticism of the human price and disruption of its “zero COVID” technique, which has confined tens of millions of individuals to their houses. Protesters have been detained and photographs and movies of occasions deleted from Chinese social media.

More than 4 in 10 of U.S. adults contaminated however almost half didn’t understand it

About 42% of individuals within the U.S. have antibodies indicating earlier coronavirus an infection, in accordance to a examine printed Friday within the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. But of those people, 44% mentioned they by no means had COVID-19, suggesting a large prevalence of asymptomatic an infection.
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed serologic testing knowledge from a pattern of 1,574 individuals within the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from August 2021 to May 2022, noting patterns in seropositive racial and ethnic minority adults have been much less possible to be in step with vaccination and extra possible to recommend previous an infection than these noticed in seropositive white adults.
(*5*) the examine authors wrote. “In this way, undiagnosed infections could have amplified disparities in infection rates and outcomes.”

 

 



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