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Vaccinated People Now Could Go With out Masks in Most Locations, the C.D.C. mentioned

Vaccinated Americans Now May Go Without Masks in Most Places, the C.D.C. said

In a sharp turn, federal health officials on Thursday indicated that Americans fully vaccinated against the coronavirus may no longer have to wear masks or maintain social distance in most indoor and outdoor areas, regardless of size.

The advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is welcome news for Americans who are tired of the restrictions and mark a turning point in the pandemic. Masks sparked controversy in communities across the United States, symbolizing a bitter party-political divide over how to approach the pandemic and a mark of political affiliation.

Permission to stop using them now provides an incentive for the many millions who are not yet vaccinated. As of Wednesday, about 154 million people had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, but only about a third of the nation, about 117.6 million people, had been fully vaccinated. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after a single shot by Johnson & Johnson or the second dose of the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna series of vaccines.

The pace has slowed, however, with providers administering an average of 2.16 million doses per day, a 36 percent decrease from the high of 3.38 million in mid-April.

At the White House on Thursday, President Biden hailed the new recommendations as a “milestone” in the nation’s efforts to fight back the pandemic.

“Today is a great day for America,” said Biden during a speech in the rose garden where he and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared without a mask. “You have earned the right to do something Americans are known the world over for: greet others with a smile.”

The new council comes with reservations. Even vaccinated individuals have to cover their face and physical distance when going to doctors, hospitals, or long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. when traveling by bus, plane, train or other public transport or in transport hubs such as airports and bus stops; and when in prisons, jails, or homeless shelters.

At a press conference at the White House the day before, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the CDC director, said unexpected twists and turns in the pandemic could force the CDC to change the guidelines again. Fully vaccinated people who develop symptoms should continue to use masks and get tested, she said.

When asked how the new guidelines might apply to businesses and schools, she said the agency was working on issuing new recommendations for specific settings, including summer camps and travel, soon, which would be released shortly.

Out of consideration for local authorities, the CDC said vaccinated Americans must continue to abide by existing state, local, or tribal laws and regulations, and follow local business and workplace rules.

Still, the changes are likely to shake Americans who are no longer used to being exposed in public – or seeing others do so.

“We need to liberalize the restrictions so that people feel like they are back to normal,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Biden government’s senior advisor on the pandemic, in an interview. “Pulling back restrictions on inner masks is an important step in the right direction.”

“You can’t stop people from doing the things they want to do. It’s one of the reasons they wanted to be vaccinated in the first place because other people aren’t getting vaccinated,” he added.

The move could sound the alarm to more cautious Americans, who may be more reluctant to engage in public activities as more people are exposed. There is no way of knowing who is and who is not vaccinated, and the majority of the population is not yet fully vaccinated. Dr. Walensky added that immunocompromised people who have been fully vaccinated should consult their doctor before foregoing a face mask.

“For those who are risk averse, the option is to continue wearing it if you wish,” said Dr. Fauci.

At the White House press conference, Dr. Fauci the Americans who, after more than a year of the pandemic, may still be getting used to a new normal of not being confident if they don’t immediately give up masks.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with a person who has some level of risk aversion,” he said. “You shouldn’t be criticized.”

Dr. Walensky defended the timing of the new mask lead, pointing to a sharp drop in coronavirus cases, which have fallen by about a third in the past two weeks, and a continued increase in vaccine supply.

The new recommendations came just two days after Senate Republicans broke into the CDC for providing outdated and overly conservative guidelines on how to wear masks, and during a pandemic hearing, the agency accused the government of trusting Americans to lose those who want to go back to normal life.

Agency officials pointed to several recent studies showing vaccines are more than 90 percent effective at preventing in-practice mild and serious illness, hospitalization and deaths from Covid-19.

Among them was a study of 6,710 healthcare workers in Israel, including 5,517 fully vaccinated workers, which found that Pfizer vaccine was 97 percent effective in symptomatic infections in those who were fully vaccinated and 86 percent effective in preventing asymptomatic infections . (However, vaccination rates in Israel are far higher than in the US.)

The CDC also stressed that the vaccines used have also been shown to be effective against variants of the coronavirus circulating in the United States.

The CDC recently came under fire for acting too cautiously to lift restrictions on public activities for those who are vaccinated. Some critics said the agency’s caution could suggest Americans that officials have no confidence in the vaccines.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist with the Vaccines and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatchewan, Canada, can help convince more people to choose the vaccine. The removal of mask requirements “is another incentive that is extremely inexpensive and very strongly backed by evidence.”

Though the CDC has historically been one of the most trusted health agencies in the world, public confidence in its recommendations fell short and did not fully recover during the Trump administration, which tried to muzzle government experts and change the agency’s advice .

Only half of Americans said they had “a great deal” of trust in the CDC, according to a new survey conducted in February and March by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

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CDC says totally vaccinated individuals needn’t put on face masks indoors or outdoor in most settings

CDC says fully vaccinated people don't need to wear face masks indoors or outdoors in most settings

Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear face masks or stay 6 feet away from others in most environments, whether outdoors or indoors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated public health guidelines released Thursday.

There are a handful of cases where people still have to wear masks – in healthcare, in a company that needs them – even after receiving their final vaccine dose two or more weeks ago, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters at a news conference. Fully vaccinated people are still required to wear masks on planes, buses, trains and other public transport, she said.

“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large and small, without wearing a mask or physically distancing themselves,” said Walensky. “When you are fully vaccinated you can start doing the things you stopped doing because of the pandemic. We have all longed for that moment when we can return to a sense of normalcy.”

Walensky said unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks, adding that they continue to face the risk of mild or serious illness, death, and the risk of spreading the disease to others. People with compromised immune systems should speak to their doctor before giving up their masks, she said.

She added that there is always a chance the CDC will change its guidelines again if the pandemic worsens or additional variants emerge.

“This is an exciting and powerful moment that can only come because of the work of so many people who have made sure that three safe and effective vaccines are given quickly,” she said.

The CDC’s announcement comes just before Memorial Day and July 4th parade season. President Joe Biden has said he hopes that enough Americans will be vaccinated by Independence Day to hold outdoor meetings safely.

Last week, Biden announced his government’s latest goals in the fight against the coronavirus: 70% of adults in the US should receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 160 million adults should be fully vaccinated by July 4.

As of Wednesday, more than 151 million Americans 18 and older, or 58.7% of the adult US population, had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the CDC. Around 116 million American adults, or 45.1% of the American adult population, are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

To achieve the president’s goal, the government is working to make vaccination with Covid as easy and convenient as possible.

Biden is instructing thousands of local pharmacies to offer walk-in vaccinations to people without an appointment, a senior administration official told reporters last week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will also support pop-up and mobile clinics aimed at those who may otherwise have difficulty reaching vaccination sites.

On Tuesday, the White House announced a new partnership with Uber and Lyft that will offer free trips to vaccination sites through July 4th.

Thursday’s new CDC guidelines will likely encourage more Americans, especially those who are still reluctant to get the shots, to get the vaccine.

–CNBC’s Rich Mendez contributed to this report.

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Vacunas para la COVID-19: ¿debo ponerme la segunda dosis?

Vacunas para la COVID-19: ¿debo ponerme la segunda dosis?

However, the agency warned unvaccinated people that they are at greater risk – and should continue to wear face masks – if they go to the movies indoors, dine in a restaurant or bar, take high-intensity exercise classes indoors, or sing in a restaurant choir indoors . Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, noted that the risk of spreading the virus indoors increases almost 20 times.

Updated

May 13, 2021 at 7:22 AM ET

And even for vaccinated people, he stated, “Until there are no more vaccinated people and we continue with more than 50,000 cases a day, wearing masks indoors provides additional protection.”

There are good reasons to be careful. More than half of the population, including children, are still not immunized. It is not known whether immunized people can become infected with the virus and have no symptoms and then accidentally spread it to other vulnerable people. Not everyone who wants to get vaccinated can do so for logistical or health reasons, and vaccines may not fully protect people with immunodeficiency.

Even if approved vaccines produce a stronger immune response than natural infections, we still don’t know how long their protection will last. The Excelsior Pass I was given in New York State confirms my vaccination status but will expire in mid-August, six months after my second dose, when I may need a booster to maintain my immunity.

Speaking of which, no one should stop getting that second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. While taking a few weeks to get the second is probably not all that important, the immune response is relatively weak after a dose and could leave people vulnerable, especially to the more virulent variants that are now floating around.

Two doses are 90 percent effective at preventing infection, and that protection is likely to last much longer. You should be scheduled for the second dose when you sign up for the first dose or when you receive it.

Some people hesitate to take the second dose because they have heard that the side effects can be uncomfortable. No matter how uncomfortable it may be, the vaccine’s side effects are brief and nowhere near as severe or persistent as the disease it protects you from. Even after recovering from a mild case of COVID-19, annoying imprints such as disorientation and chronic fatigue can be left behind.

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CDC says 28 blood clot instances, three deaths could also be linked to J&J Covid vaccine

CDC says 28 blood clot cases, 3 deaths may be linked to J&J Covid vaccine

The Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine

Stephen Zenner | LightRocket | Getty Images

CDC scientists say their investigation into a rare blood clotting problem related to the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine identified 28 people who may have developed life-threatening blockages – three of whom have died.

The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged states on April 13 to temporarily cease use of J & J’s vaccine “out of caution” while examining six women ages 18 to 48 who developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, or CVST combined with low platelets within about two weeks of receiving the shot.

They recommended resuming use of the shot 10 days later after the CDC found the benefits of the vaccinations outweighed their risks.

CVST is a form of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, or TTS, which are blood clots with a low platelet count that make patients at risk of stroke. Platelets actually help the blood to clot.

CDC official Dr. Tom Shimabukuro said Wednesday that four of the 28 people with TTS were hospitalized on May 7, one of whom was in intensive care, and two were being discharged to a post-acute care facility. The remaining 19 patients have all been discharged, he said during a presentation to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The panel voted earlier in the day to recommend the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds.

The mean age of the patients with TTS was 40 years and ranged from 18 to 59 years. Women aged 30 to 39 were the greatest risk group. All patients received the J&J shot before the April 13 break. Of the 28 TTS cases, 19 involved the brain, with 10 of those patients suffering from cerebral haemorrhage, Shimabukuro said.

The other clots formed in the lower extremities, pulmonary arteries, or other areas of the body.

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Sophomore 12 months 2020: College students Wrestle With the Coronavirus Pandemic

Sophomore Year 2020: Students Struggle With the Coronavirus Pandemic

Before the pandemic, he would have said he was a kid on his way to a scholarship, maybe even to a college like Northwestern, where his father briefly studied before dropping out. When obsessed with the musical Hamilton in seventh grade, he read the Federalist Papers to see what they had to say. He played as Macbeth in a school production and liked it so much that he read other Shakespeare plays for fun. He never wanted to sound conceited, but in the past he would have said school came easily. At the same time, he found it all overwhelming at times. As a black teenager now approaching six feet, he was very much aware of what his mother’s – a PhD school administrator – expected were. – went against the expectations of the rest of the world. “To keep proving these stereotypes wrong,” he said, “it costs me a lot.”

And then, last spring, when the school closed its doors, he was left alone with thoughts that had been waiting for that very opportunity – for an enormous amount of time and space. These new thoughts flooded in, leaving little room for concern about Othello’s motivation or the subjunctive in French. More and more, when he was alone in his room there was only one voice, and that voice told Charles that no matter how promising his start was, that he would surely follow what he saw as his father’s downward slide felt. His fate was failure.

During the first few days of the school year, Charles’ laptop kept crashing during Zooms, which felt like a metaphor for what the year would bring: a big mess, a break, a technological headache he was left to solve. In the following weeks the days were empty and long; The more time that voice had, the louder it got and the harder it was to get out of it. Since he did all of his chores in his bedroom, it was easy to go back to sleep after his first grade if he made it to his first grade. “When I woke up, I could either a) get up and do what I had to do,” he said, trying to grasp his typical schedule, “or b) look at the time, be disappointed in myself, and go back to bed . “During distance learning, attendance was not included in a student’s final grade. However, Charles not only skipped class – he hardly gave any assignments. And suddenly there he was, no longer a kid getting A, but a kid who it had blown so early in the semester.

The voice in his head exhausted him so that Charles began to sleep more during the day. Sometimes the voice frightened him. His heart would start pounding and he would feel overwhelmed by a sense of an impending crisis: it was all over and there was nothing he could do about it. It was too late.

How could EK possibly get him out of the hole he was in? She had no idea how big it was already. At the beginning of October he decided to stay with Zoom after class when she offered to help all the students who were left behind. At least he could tell his mother that he had tried. He stayed and Sarah, a classmate everyone liked. She cheered and he played JV football, but they didn’t move in the same circles. She really was a smiley face – he considered her one of those people who were always happy.

When Sarah stayed After class to attend this additional help session with Ms. EK in early October, she was surprised to see Charles was there too. Charles, she had already learned, was smart. He often had an answer to everything Mrs. EK asked; In fact, the students had quickly come to rely on him to save them all from the silence that often hung in the air in their online classes. While talking to each other and Ms. EK that day, Charles and Sarah quickly found common ground and diagnosed their common problems: lack of motivation, loneliness, a feeling of hopelessness. Charles suggested that Sarah might need help, to which Sarah said, What about you?

During that conversation, Sarah told the first of many lies she would tell her teachers, mother, and herself over the coming months. OK, she would say, I’m ready to turn a new leaf. Now I’m really going to apply. But she still rarely made it to class. When her laptop died in the middle of a zoom, she decided that this was God’s way of telling her that she had done enough for the day. About six weeks into school, her mother, whose health was still shaky, whose mind was still foggy, looked at a mid-term academic assessment that landed in her email inbox and said, “What do all these NHIs mean?” Sarah said : “Huh, I don’t know”, as if she wanted to decipher one of the great bureaucratic secrets of her time, although she knew exactly what they stood for: not given up. She got used to piling up emails from teachers. “Just make sure you saw. … “” A reminder that your essay. … ”Everyone wanted something from her. Whoa, whoa, whoa. She would come back to them – someday.

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Seychelles most vaccinated nation on Earth however Covid-19 has surged

Seychelles most vaccinated nation on Earth but Covid-19 has surged

A woman with an umbrella walks in a street in the capital Victoria of the Seychelles.

Valery Sharifulin | TASS | Getty Images

Seychelles worries world health experts after a surge in Covid-19 cases in fully vaccinated people.

The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that it would review coronavirus data from the Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, after the Ministry of Health said in the week leading up to May 8 that more than a third of people were positive tested for Covid-19 had been fully vaccinated.

It is believed that the Seychelles have so far carried out a very successful vaccination rollout. It can boast of having the highest percentage of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the world, above Israel and the UK

The majority of people vaccinated have received China’s Sinopharm vaccine (approved by WHO for emergency use last Friday) as well as the AstraZeneca shot (known locally as Covishield, a version made in India). Overall, the Seychelles, with a population of over 97,000, recorded just under 8,200 cases and 28 deaths during the pandemic.

On Monday, the Seychelles Ministry of Health reported a sharp increase in the number of cases. Of the 120 new cases reported on April 30, a week later, over 300 cases were recorded a day on May 7 and May 8, respectively.

Of all positive cases, the Department of Health said 63% were either not vaccinated or were only given a dose of SinoPharm or Covishield, but 37% of new infections were in people who received both doses.

The ministry found that 80% of patients in need of hospital treatment had not been vaccinated and were more likely to be people with comorbidities. It added that “almost all” of the critical and severe cases requiring intensive care had also not been vaccinated. To date, none of the patients who died with Covid-19 had been fully vaccinated.

To date, 57% of those who received two doses have received Sinopharm and 43% have received Covishield, the Seychelles Ministry of Health said. It is unclear which vaccine was given to people who were fully immunized but then tested positive for Covid.

While new cases flattened on May 7 and 8 (with 317 new cases reported and 314 cases), the Ministry of Health said, “The transmission rate remains high and is worrying.”

The situation has certainly alarmed experts, especially since 60% of the total population of Seychelles has been fully vaccinated. In addition, 86% of the Seychelles target population for vaccination – 70,000 people – have been fully vaccinated to date, according to data from the ministry.

What the WHO thinks

On Monday, WHO director for Immunization, Vaccines and Biologics, Dr. Kate O’Brien, in a briefing, that the WHO is in direct communication with the Ministry of Health of the Seychelles and that the situation is “a more complicated situation than the top situation”. Line messages. “

“As mentioned earlier, the vaccines are very effective against severe cases and deaths. Most of the cases are mild cases. What is also important is that a significant proportion, over 80% of the population, has been vaccinated. But as we know … occur some of the reported cases occur either shortly after a single dose or shortly after a second dose, or between the first and second dose. “

She said that in this particular situation a very detailed assessment is required, “what the situation is like, first, what pressures are circulating in the country, second, if the cases occur in relation to the time someone has been dosed, third, how.” hard they are of the cases. “

‘Only through this type of assessment can we judge whether or not it is vaccination failure or whether it is more about the nature of the cases occurring, the milder end of the cases, and then the timing of the cases relative to the timing of the doses given to individuals. This assessment is ongoing and we are supporting and working with the country to understand the situation. “

CNBC has asked WHO for an updated comment on the situation in Seychelles but has yet to receive a response.

Effectiveness of the vaccine

The WHO has repeatedly warned that vaccination alone would not be enough to stop the pandemic, but would rather be another weapon in the arsenal to fight the virus.

Restrictions on social contact as well as good personal hygiene are still seen as a basis for preventing the spread. Last week, the Seychelles placed restrictions on some social gatherings and public spaces to curb the spread.

The situation of the islanders is a reminder that no coronavirus vaccine currently in use has been proven to be 100% effective in preventing Covid-19 infection. Still, all vaccines currently approved for use by the WHO have been shown to be very, if not extremely, effective in preventing serious Covid infections, with cases, hospitalizations and deaths falling sharply in countries with advanced vaccination programs like the UK

With a third wave of cases and new virus variants that could lead to further deaths and economic devastation, time is of the essence to get life-saving vaccines approved and distributed worldwide. The more available, the better.

On Friday, the WHO approved the state-owned Chinese pharmaceutical company SinoPharm for emergency use. This could accelerate the use of the shot in the WHO COVAX program, which aims to give poorer countries access to vaccines.

WHO said the addition of the SinoPharm vaccine had “the potential to rapidly accelerate access to Covid-19 vaccines for countries that want to protect health workers and vulnerable populations.”

It noted that the WHO Strategic Advisory Group on Immunization Experts had completed a review of the vaccine and recommended it on a two-dose regimen, three to four weeks apart, for adults aged 18 and over based on all available evidence.

“The effectiveness of the vaccine in symptomatic and hospital illnesses was estimated to be 79%, all ages combined,” it said. However, it was found that “few older adults (over 60 years of age) have participated in clinical trials, so efficacy in this age group could not be estimated”.

In March, AstraZeneca released an updated clinical trial date showing the vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 infections. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were found to be 95% effective.

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C.D.C Confirms Extra Instances of Uncommon Blood Clot Dysfunction Linked to J.&J. Vaccine

C.D.C Confirms More Cases of Rare Blood Clot Disorder Linked to J.&J. Vaccine

Federal health officials have now confirmed 28 cases, including six in men, of a rare bleeding disorder in adults who have received the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, deputy director of the vaccination safety bureau at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented the new cases on Wednesday at a CDC advisory board meeting

The number is an increase from the 15 confirmed cases that were all women reported at the meeting last month.

Although officials have now identified a handful of cases in men, women – particularly between the ages of 30 and 49 – appear to be at increased risk. “The trend is that women in all age groups have higher reporting rates than men,” said Dr. Shimabukuro at the meeting.

Patients with the rare but serious disorder develop blood clots, often in the brain, as well as low levels of platelets, components of the blood that promote clotting. The disorder is a “rare, clinically serious, and potentially life-threatening condition,” said Dr. Shimabukuro.

Last month, after reports first emerged that six women who had received the vaccine had developed the disorder, federal health officials recommended discontinuing use of the vaccine during the investigation. They lifted the suspension 10 days later and warned the vaccine label of possible risks that suggest that there is a “plausible” link between the vaccine and the disease.

22 of the confirmed cases so far involved women and six men. All were adults between the ages of 18 and 59 who received the vaccine before the national break. (Another case was also recorded in a 25-year-old male who participated in the clinical trial.)

Three people have died and four remain in the hospital, including one in intensive care. No new deaths have been documented since last month’s meeting, said Dr. Shimabukuro.

The overall risk remains extremely low. More than 9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have now been administered in the United States.

There were 12.4 cases per million doses in women between 30 and 39 years of age and 9.4 cases per million doses in women between 40 and 49 years of age, the two demographics that appear to be at greatest risk. There were fewer than 3 cases per million doses in older women and men of all ages.

Of the 28 confirmed cases, 12 people who developed the disorder had obesity, 7 had high blood pressure, 3 had diabetes, and 3 were taking estrogen, although it is not yet clear whether any of these factors could significantly increase the risk of the disorder.

Officials will continue to look for cases of the coagulation disorder in vaccinated people, said Dr. Shimabukuro.

There were no confirmed cases of coagulation disorder after the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, which use a different technology, said Dr. Shimabukuro.

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‘We’re following the science’

‘We are following the science’

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, defended the agency’s guidelines for guiding Covid-19 masks amid widespread criticism from lawmakers and health authorities.

“These topics are complex, science moves on, science moves and we follow science every day and our guidance moves on as science moves,” Walensky said during a Wednesday interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard” Blacksmith. ”

Walensky pointed out the declining Covid cases and rising vaccination rates in the nation. The U.S. positivity rate fell to 3.1%, the lowest level in the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. Almost 59% of adults have received at least one vaccine, according to the CDC.

The CDC chief also signaled to Shepard Smith that guidelines will change soon after the agency approves the administration of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to teenagers aged 12-15.

“Today we have vaccines available for 12-15 year olds. [the agency’s guidelines are] I’ll have to keep evolving and I’m very excited to update them very soon, “said Walensky.

Smith also asked Walensky why everyone who had been vaccinated in his office still had to wear masks inside. She stated that the CDC wants to make sure the vaccines are effective against all variants circulating in the US and that “you are not an asymptomatic carrier if you are vaccinated” before indoor masks are completely phased out.

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C.D.C. Advisers Endorse Pfizer Vaccine for Youngsters Ages 12 to 15

C.D.C. Advisers Endorse Pfizer Vaccine for Children Ages 12 to 15

The federal government took one final step on Wednesday to bring Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to teenagers in the United States, remove an obstacle to school reopening, and cheer millions of families tired of pandemic restrictions are.

An advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted The CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to review the recommendations and approve them later on Wednesday.

“Getting Covid-19 vaccines approved for children ages 12-15 is an important step in removing barriers to vaccinating children of all ages,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, who represents the American Academy of Pediatrics on the Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Many parents eagerly await the availability of vaccines for children, at least in part to expedite their return to school. About a third of eighth graders, usually 13 or 14 years old, still study completely remotely.

In some states, such as Maine, vaccination of teenagers has already started. Others plan to offer the vaccine as early as Thursday. There are nearly 17 million 12 to 15 year olds in the United States, which is 5.3 percent of the population.

Almost every state now has a flood of vaccine doses that could be quickly distributed to teenagers. The dose used to immunize adults is safe and effective for these adolescents too, as clinical studies have shown.

“Sometimes we lose the importance of children and adolescents in the midst of a pandemic – especially older adults are so much in focus,” said Dr. Grace Lee, Committee member and Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University.

While the risk of serious illness in children is low compared to adults, the coronavirus has infected more than 1.5 million children and sent more than 13,000 to hospitals, according to the CDC, more than were hospitalized for flu in an average year

“It is currently one of the top ten causes of child death since the pandemic began,” noted Dr. Maldonado.

Young children are believed to be less likely to spread the virus than adults, but their ability to transmit it increases with age. Teenagers, especially in high school, can spread the virus just as easily as adults. Children aged 12-17 make up an increasing proportion of Covid cases in the country.

Vaccinating children should increase immunity levels in the US population and help reduce the number of cases.

“Any person with Covid-19 is giving the virus an opportunity to spread, further mutate and further expose our communities,” said Dr. Bill Gruber, Senior Vice President at Pfizer. “The decisions of the health authorities this week bring us one step closer to protecting young people and achieving herd protection.”

Pfizer announced in March that the vaccine appears to be at least as effective in 12-15 year olds as it is in older teenagers and adults. Apart from a slight increase in the frequency of fever, the shots also appeared to have comparable, mostly negligible side effects.

The company plans to monitor study participants for two years after the second dose to assess the long-term safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

Updated

May 12, 2021, 4:58 p.m. ET

The Food and Drug Administration reviewed the clinical data and on Monday approved the Pfizer vaccine for use in these children. This allowed parents and children to wait weeks for a faster return to normal.

“While it is true that children are generally spared serious illnesses, the fact that they could not be vaccinated has created significant disruptions in their lives that have real developmental ramifications,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “By vaccinating this age cohort, these children can get back to their normal lives.”

In a speech at the White House on Wednesday, President Biden pointed out the benefits of the Covid vaccine for children 12 and older and said it was “safe, effective, easy, quick and free”.

“Starting tomorrow, more than 15,000 pharmacies will be ready to vaccinate this age group,” said Biden, adding that pharmacies would make it easier for teenagers to get the first shot in one location and a second shot in another location if needed.

Some experts have raised ethical concerns about vaccinating children who are at low risk for the virus, although healthcare workers and older adults remain at risk in many countries.

“If just thinking as a parent, if I had teenagers, I would probably love to vaccinate my children,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Class disturbed

Updated May 5, 2021

The latest on how the pandemic is changing education.

But she added, “I am very concerned about a situation where the few countries in the world that had enough vaccines to protect their adults continue to hoard those vaccines for use in low-risk children.”

School reopenings have spiked across the country as parents, teachers, unions and school authorities worried about outbreaks. Research shows that children are largely spared serious illnesses and are not significant drivers of the spread of the coronavirus, as is the case with influenza.

“This misperception of risk will clearly divert vaccination priorities from the optimal strategic use of vaccines worldwide,” said Drs Adaliah.

The committee also recommended giving the Covid-19 vaccine along with other major vaccines that teenagers may have missed during the year. The agency had recommended waiting two weeks before and after immunization against Covid-19 before receiving other vaccines.

Parents’ reluctance can be the main hurdle. According to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 40 percent of parents of teenagers said that they would not vaccinate their children or would only vaccinate them if required by a school.

Some of these parents might change their minds as other children are safe to receive vaccines and resume personal schooling or return to team sports such as soccer and basketball that involve close contact, the researchers suggested.

Others can wait to meet school requirements. Public schools in all 50 states require certain vaccines, but officials may not be able to enforce compliance until the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has received full FDA approval.

The vaccine now has an emergency approval. Pfizer has applied for full approval from the FDA, but this process is expected to take several months. Even after approval, students can opt out based on medical reasons or religious beliefs.

State and local leaders must make special efforts to reach children in low-income families or in color communities. Black and Hispanic adults have one of the lowest vaccination rates: by May 3, only 25 percent of blacks and 27 percent of Hispanics had been vaccinated, compared with 39 percent of whites.

In order to make the vaccine available to these communities, transport and storage of the cans must be facilitated. The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine can only be stored in standard refrigerators for five days. The companies plan to ship smaller packs for use in doctor’s offices and are developing a formulation that can be refrigerated for up to 10 weeks.

Pfizer and BioNTech plan to file applications for approval of the vaccine in children ages 2-11 in September.

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Day by day U.S. information on Might 12

Daily U.S. data on May 12

A commuter rolls up his sleeve to get a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination shot at the Grand Central Station Terminal train station in Manhattan on May 12, 2021 in New York City, New York, United States.

Carlo Allegri | Reuters

After weeks of declines, the pace of daily vaccinations in the US has improved in recent days.

The country reports an average of 2.2 million shots a day over the past week, federal data shows, which was slightly above Saturday’s most recent low, when it fell below 2 million for the first time since early March.

A key advisory body to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will vote on Wednesday whether to recommend the expansion of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to children ages 12-15. Confirmation is the final step before officials authorize states to open vaccinations for millions of teenagers on Thursday.

US vaccine shots administered

CDC data shows that an average of 2.2 million daily vaccinations were reported in the US over the past week, a 35% decrease from the peak in mid-April but an increase in recent days.

While it’s too early to say whether this recent surge will become a steady trend, the data shows an increase in reported first doses, suggesting that new people are joining a vaccination program.

The totals reported Tuesday also included 150,000 Johnson & Johnson admissions, the highest one-day total since April 15. The last 7-day average of J&J recordings is 106,000 per day, compared to a high of 425,000 in mid-April.

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told lawmakers at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the pause in the J&J shot due to a rare blood clotting problem didn’t disrupt the U.S. vaccine adoption, although some polls have shown low confidence in the vaccine’s safety.

US percentage of the vaccinated population

According to the CDC, more than 46% of the US population has received one or more shots and 35% are fully vaccinated.

If and when states introduce the vaccine for the 12-15 age group, the pace of vaccination could be accelerated further.

US Covid cases

The average daily cases of U.S. Covid continued to decline Tuesday, with the 7-day average around 38,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

For the first time since September, the number of new cases is below 40,000 a day this week.

US Covid deaths

The most recent 7-day average of US daily Covid deaths is 608, Hopkins data shows.