Tag: Vaccinated

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Health

C.D.C. advisers are anticipated to debate uncommon coronary heart issues in vaccinated youthful individuals.

C.D.C. advisers are expected to discuss rare heart problems in vaccinated younger people.

Advisors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss reports of rare heart problems in young people immunized with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s coronavirus vaccines.

The reports pertain to conditions called myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle; and pericarditis, inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart. Most of the cases were mild, with symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain, and irregular heartbeat that go away quickly. The agency is tracking nearly 800 reports, although not all of them have definitely been linked to the vaccines.

The CDC advisors meeting comes as the Biden administration publicly recognizes it expects to miss its goal of partially immunizing 70 percent of Americans by July 4th.

Experts have said that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risk of potential problems, but they are expected to revisit this debate, especially for adolescents and young adults.

More than half of heart problems were reported in Americans ages 12 to 24, while that age group accounted for only 9 percent of the millions of doses given. The numbers are higher than one would expect for this age.

As of May 31, 216 people had developed myocarditis or pericarditis after a dose of either vaccine and 573 after the second dose. While most of the cases were mild, 15 patients remained in hospitals at this point. The second dose of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was associated with approximately twice as many cases as the second dose of Moderna’s vaccine.

“We look forward to more clarity about the potential risk of myocarditis after mRNA vaccines in order to increase vaccination confidence and rates,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, Chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Recommendations from CDC advisors after Wednesday’s meeting may also influence decisions about immunizing children under 12 if vaccines are available for that age group. Some experts have questioned whether the benefits to children outweigh the potential risks given the low likelihood of serious illness in young children.

The CDC strongly recommends Covid-19 vaccines for Americans 12 and older. The agency reported this month that Covid-19-related hospitalizations among teenagers in the United States were about three times higher than influenza-related hospitalizations for the past three flu seasons.

By June 10, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 17,000 children in 24 states had been hospitalized for Covid-19 and 330 children had died.

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Health

C.D.C Research Say Younger Adults Are Much less Prone to Get Vaccinated

C.D.C Studies Say Young Adults Are Less Likely to Get Vaccinated

Younger Americans are less likely to be vaccinated than older ones, and factors such as income and education can affect vaccination reluctance, according to two new studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By May 22, 57 percent of adults had received at least one dose of vaccine, the authors found in one of the new publications, but the rate fluctuated widely depending on age: of those 65 or older, 80 percent were at least partially vaccinated, compared with 38 Percent of 18 to 29 year olds.

Part of the rate gap was due to the fact that many young adults were not eligible for vaccination until March or April. But uptake has also been slower among younger Americans, and a significant proportion of them remain hesitant.

If vaccination initiation rates remain stable, only 58 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds will be vaccinated by the end of August, compared with 95 percent of 65-year-olds, the researchers found.

Immunization rates have lagged among young men, people who live in rural counties, and people who live in counties where a high proportion of the population is low-income, uninsured, or without access to a computer or the Internet.

In a second study, 24.9 percent of the 18 to 39-year-olds questioned said that they would probably or definitely not get vaccinated. Those who were young, black, low-income, had no health insurance, lived outside of metropolitan areas, or had a lower level of education were less likely to say they had vaccinated or said they were definitely planning to vaccinate.

The studies highlight the hurdles remaining in improving vaccination coverage, two weeks to President Biden’s self-imposed July 4 deadline to get 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated. In recent weeks, his government has changed its approach by moving away from mass vaccination centers and adopting more targeted strategies, including setting up mobile or pop-up vaccination clinics and on-site vaccination events in black barbershops.

The US vaccination campaign began on December 14th. Healthcare workers, adults aged 75 and over, and members of other high-risk groups were generally the first to be considered, although vaccination guidelines varied from state to state. By April 19, all adults were eligible for the recordings. Using the vaccination data submitted by the states, a team of CDC researchers analyzed vaccination patterns across demographic groups.

They also calculated the percentage of people in each age group who received their first dose during a given week. This “initiation rate” of the vaccine was highest in adults aged 65 and over, peaking the week of February 7, when 8 percent of adults in this group received their first dose.

Between April 19 and May 22, the proportion of 18 to 29 year olds who received their first dose fell from 3.6 percent to 1.9 percent.

“If the current vaccination rate continues through August, vaccination rates will remain significantly lower in young adults than in older adults,” the researchers wrote.

In the second study, between March 5 and May 2, the researchers interviewed a nationally representative sample of adults, including 2,726 18- to 39-year-olds. Of those who said they probably or definitely would not get the vaccine, 57 percent said they didn’t trust the vaccine, while 56 percent expressed concern about possible side effects and 36 percent said they didn’t need the vaccine.

The study also suggested possible strategies for increasing vaccination coverage. Of those who said they were unsure or likely to get the vaccine, 20 to 40 percent said they would be more likely to get it if they had more information about its safety and effectiveness if it would prevent them from doing so. spreading the virus to family and friends, or when it would allow them to return to normal social activities.

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Health

New Jersey has totally vaccinated 4.7 million individuals, Gov. Murphy says

New Jersey Gov. Murphy defends eligibility criteria

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) speaks at the coronavirus press conference in Trenton, New Jersey.

Michael Brochstein | Barcroft Media | Getty Images

New Jersey has achieved its goal of fully vaccinating more than 4.7 million people living, working and studying in the state about two weeks before its original target date, June 30, Governor Phil Murphy said Friday.

The milestone comes after an aggressive vaccination campaign that included door knocking and incentives for the state’s residents like free beer and wine, free tickets to state parks, and even a dinner with Murphy and his wife.

The state also exceeded President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4th. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Jersey vaccinated about 77% of its adults with at least one dose.

“With the millions of you who have stepped forward today to protect yourself, your families and our communities, we are proud to announce that we have exceeded our original goal now and 12 days before our self-appointed deadline “said Murphy Friday at a press conference.

The New Jersey outbreak, which peaked in January with a seven-day average of more than 6,000 new cases per day, has since declined to a daily average of around 260 cases per day over the past week. New Jersey has seen more than 1 million Covid cases and 26,000 Covid deaths since data collection began.

Covid deaths in the state peaked in April 2020 with a seven-day average of 345 deaths per day. The number has since fallen to an average of 6 deaths per day.

The state previously defied the CDC’s recommendations to allow vaccinated people to wear a mask indoors, but passed the CDC guidelines two weeks later.

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Health

New York carry most Covid restrictions with 70% of adults vaccinated with one shot

New York lift most Covid restrictions with 70% of adults vaccinated with one shot

Masked people walk Times Square in New York City on May 19, 2021.

John Smith | Corbis News | Getty Images

New York will lift most of its Covid-19 restrictions now that 70% of all adults in the state have been vaccinated with at least one dose, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday.

Cuomo said all government-imposed restrictions on commercial businesses, social facilities, sports and recreational events, construction, manufacturing and retail introduced since March 2020 will be lifted “with immediate effect.”

“We can live again. Shops can open because government mandates are gone, restrictions on social gatherings, capacity restrictions, health checks, cleaning and disinfection protocols, “he said. “Think about June 15th. Think about today because it is the day New York was resurrected.”

Residents and visitors are still required to wear masks in some settings such as hospitals, public transportation and schools according to guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said, but all other state-mandated Covid restrictions will be lifted across New York. The state will allow schools and camps to decide whether masks are required for children during outdoor activities.

While New York, which was an early epicenter of the global outbreak last March and April, recorded more than 2 million cases and nearly 53,000 Covid deaths, it now has one of the lowest rates of positivity in the United States.

On Sunday, the state’s seven-day positivity rate was 0.41%, up from a high of 7.9% on Jan. 4. Every region of the state has a positivity rate of less than 1%.

Cuomo emphasized that 70% is a great milestone and a sign that the state is fine, but it’s not the finish line. “We want to celebrate, but we want to remember what we are celebrating,” said Cuomo on Monday. “We come around the last corner.”

More than 11.1 million residents of the state have been vaccinated with at least one vaccination, and about 9.8 million are fully vaccinated, according to the state.

The state has administered more shots per capita than any other large state in the country, according to the CDC.

New York suffered widespread closings of its bars and restaurants due to pandemic lockdowns. Many restaurants and bars in New York City did not survive. The restaurant industry employs nearly 1 million people in the state, which is 9% of total employment in the state.

Before the pandemic, the unemployment rate in New York state was 3.9%. That number skyrocketed to 16.2% during the worst of the pandemic in April 2020. About a year later, the unemployment rate was 8.2% in April.

Cuomo said the state will lift capacity restrictions, social distancing, hygiene protocols, health exams, some contact tracing, and more.

President Joe Biden’s goal is to have 70% of adults in the United States vaccinated with at least one vaccine by July 4th.

The Empire State Building and all other state assets will glow blue and gold to celebrate the milestone vaccination rate.

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Health

Vaccinated Adults Helps Defend Unvaccinated Kids, Research Finds

Vaccinated Adults Helps Protect Unvaccinated Children, Study Finds

New data from Israel, which had the fastest Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the world, provides real evidence that widespread vaccination against the coronavirus can protect unvaccinated people as well.

The Israeli study, published Thursday in the journal Nature Medicine, capitalized on the fact that until recently Israel only vaccinated people 16 and older. For every 20 percentage points increase in the proportion of 16 to 50 year olds vaccinated in a community, the proportion of unvaccinated under 16 year olds who tested positive for the virus fell by half.

“Vaccination not only offers benefits to the individual vaccine, but also to the people around them,” said Roy Kishony, a biologist, physicist and data scientist who studies microbial evolution and disease at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Dr. Kishony led the research with Dr. Tal Patalon, who heads KSM, the Maccabi Research and Innovation Center, in Israel. The first authors of the paper are Oren Milman and Idan Yelin, researchers in Dr. Kishony’s laboratory.

Israel began vaccinating adults in December last year. Within nine weeks, it had vaccinated nearly half of its population.

The researchers examined the anonymized electronic health records of members of Maccabi Healthcare Services, an Israeli HMO. They analyzed vaccination reports and virus test results between December 6, 2020 and March 9, 2021. The records were from 177 different geographic areas with different vaccination rates and vaccination rates.

For each community, they calculated the proportion of adults between the ages of 16 and 50 who were vaccinated at different times. They also calculated the percentage of children under the age of 16 who tested positive for PCR.

They found a clear connection: As more and more adults were vaccinated in a community, the proportion of children who tested positive for the virus fell as a result.

People who are vaccinated are significantly less likely to contract the virus. Research also suggests that even if people who have been vaccinated become infected with the virus, they may have lower viral loads, which reduces their ability to be contagious. As more and more people are vaccinated, the likelihood that unvaccinated people will encounter infected, contagious people is decreasing.

“The results are consistent with the fact that vaccinated people not only do not get sick themselves, but also do not transmit the virus to others,” said Dr. Kishony. “Such effects can be intensified over several infection cycles.”

In another recent article that has not yet been published in a scientific journal, Finnish researchers reported that after vaccinating health workers, even unvaccinated family members were less likely to be infected with the virus.

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Health

High FDA advisor says children should be vaccinated towards Covid

Top FDA advisor says kids need to be vaccinated against Covid

U.S. Senator Bob Casey, right, watches as Dr. Paul Offit speaks during a press conference in Philadelphia on Friday, Feb. 13, 2015.

Matt Rourke | AP

Children need to be vaccinated against Covid-19, a top advisor to the Food and Drug Administration’s childhood vaccines told the agency on Thursday.

“It just seems silly to think that we don’t need to involve children,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and advisor to the FDA. “They can suffer and be hospitalized and occasionally die.”

He said 300 children had died of Covid so far.

Offit, a voting member of the Agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, spoke about the use of Covid-19 vaccines in children 6 months of age during the panel’s meeting.

“We have variants that are becoming more contagious, which means you need higher population immunity … for years, if not decades,” Offit said. He also said that we vaccinate children against polio every year, although we haven’t had a polio case since the 1970s.

Data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that nearly 4 million children have tested positive for Covid since the pandemic began. In the past week, the data said more than 16,000 new cases in children were reported, the lowest since June 2020. In states reported, less than 1% of all Covid cases in children resulted in death, the AAP wrote their website.

“I think in winter we will really see how well we do on population immunity,” Offit said. “I think the idea that we will no longer have to vaccinate children in the future is wrong.”

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Politics

Putin says foreigners can get vaccinated towards Covid in Russia

Putin says foreigners can get vaccinated against Covid in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during a plenary session of the International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg on June 4, 2021.

DMITRY LOVETSKY | AFP | Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the government to pave the way for foreign citizens to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country for an undisclosed fee.

Speaking during a plenary session at the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said: “The Russian pharmaceutical industry is ready to further boost the production of vaccines so that we not only fully meet our own needs.”

“We can also give foreign nationals the opportunity to come to Russia and get vaccinated here. I know that given the effectiveness of our vaccines, there is great demand,” he went on, according to a translation.

“In this regard, I would like to ask the government to analyze all aspects of this issue by the end of the month for a chance to get a vaccine on a commercial basis,” Putin said, without specifying the cost.

Russia has approved four Covid vaccines for home use. The most widely used Sputnik-V vaccine has so far been registered in 65 countries around the world, according to the Russian state fund.

The price of Sputnik V is less than $ 10 per shot, requiring two doses over a 21 day period.

Russia has been criticized for pursuing a strategy of selling or donating Covid vaccines overseas in order to expand its influence worldwide. Moscow denies that it is.

Putin’s comments come as pressure mounts on the world’s richest countries to do more to expand global access to Covid vaccines.

Equal access to vaccines is reported to be high on the agenda when the G-7 leaders meet in the UK next week.

The urgency and importance of surrendering certain intellectual property rights to Covid vaccines and treatments amid the pandemic has been underscored by WHO, health experts, civil society groups, trade unions, former world leaders, international medical charities, Nobel Prize winners and human rights organizations.

India and South Africa jointly submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organization in October last year calling for politicians to facilitate the production of Covid treatments on site and to press ahead with the global vaccination campaign.

Several months later, the proposal continues to be blocked by a small number of governments – including the EU, UK, Switzerland, Japan, Norway, Canada, Australia and Brazil.

Nord Stream 2

Regardless of this, Russia’s Putin said the first pipeline of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany had been completed. The second line is not ready yet.

The controversial 1,230-kilometer underwater pipeline is set to become one of the longest offshore gas pipelines in the world. It is supposed to deliver Russian gas to Germany directly under the Baltic Sea bypassing Ukraine.

Along with several European countries, the US is rejecting the pipeline, calling it a “bad deal” for European energy security. President Joe Biden is under pressure to do more to stop the near-completed project.

Putin is due to hold talks with Biden on June 16 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Whether the summit can make a big difference is questionable, especially given the poor diplomatic relations between the two nuclear powers.

Some U.S. lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration for giving the talks the go-ahead, pointing to the ongoing detention of opposition politician Alexei Navalny and the Kremlin’s support for Belarus after Russia’s neighbor took a commercial flight to Minsk last month had diverted.

At a press conference last month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki rejected proposals that the bilateral talks should be interpreted as a “reward” for Moscow.

“This is how diplomacy works,” she said. “We don’t only meet with people when we are in agreement. It is important to meet with leaders when we have a number of disagreements, as we do with the Russian leader.”

For its part, Russia said the two presidents will hold talks to discuss the current state of bilateral relations, strategic stability issues and current international issues such as the coronavirus pandemic and regional conflicts.

– CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.

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Biden doubles down on U.S. efforts to get extra People vaccinated by the Fourth of July

Biden doubles down on U.S. efforts to get more Americans vaccinated by the Fourth of July

President Joe Biden speaks on Covid-19 response and vaccinations in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC, on June 2, 2021.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Wednesday doubled down on his administration’s efforts to get more Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 by July 4, a date the president has said he hopes will mark a turning point in the pandemic in the U.S.

In early May, Biden announced his administration’s new goals in the fight against the coronavirus: getting 70% of U.S. adults to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and having 160 million adults fully vaccinated by Independence Day.

Speaking from the White House on Wednesday, Biden announced June as the “national month of action” to get more Americans vaccinated by July 4. He urged unvaccinated Americans to get the shots, saying they are still at risk of becoming seriously ill, dying and spreading the disease to others, especially once the U.S. approaches the fall.

“Getting a vaccine is not a partisan act,” Biden said, noting that the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines were authorized under former Republican President Donald Trump.

“I don’t want to see the country that is already divided be divided in a new way: between places where people live free from fear of Covid and places, when the fall arrives, deaths and severe illnesses return,” he said. “The vaccine is free, safe and effective.”

The president outlined his administration’s approach to its nationwide vaccine campaign, which he said would mobilize national organizations, community- and faith-based partners, celebrities, athletes and other influential groups.

In details released ahead of Biden’s speech, the White House also said the administration has asked pharmacies to extend their hours for the month of June and disclosed it is partnering with child-care providers to offer free services to all parents getting vaccinated or recovering from the shots.

KinderCare and Learning Care Group as well as more than 500 YMCAs will offer the child services, Biden said later Wednesday.

The administration is also organizing efforts to call and text people in areas with low vaccination rates and is challenging mayors to compete with each other to see which city can increase shot rates the quickest, according to an email from the White House.

Other administration efforts include “Shots at the Shop,” an initiative that will engage Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons across the country to support local vaccine education and outreach efforts.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will also lead a tour – called the “We Can Do This” National Vaccination Tour – which will highlight “the ease of getting vaccinated, encourage vaccinations, and energize and mobilize grassroots vaccine education and outreach efforts,” according to the White House.

On Wednesday, Biden also touted the White House’s partnership with Uber and Lyft to offer free rides to vaccination sites until July 4.

“America is heading into a summer dramatically different from last summer,” he said. “Safely vaccinated people are shedding their masks and greeting one another with a smile.”

As of Tuesday, more than 162 million U.S. adults, or 62.8% of people 18 and over, have received at least one Covid vaccine, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 133 million U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

There was an average of 1.2 million Covid shots administered every day over the last week in the U.S. But some of the data over the long holiday weekend is incomplete, so vaccination rates may be higher.

Public health experts say Biden’s vaccination goal may pose a challenge for his administration as the U.S. has already inoculated those most enthusiastic about getting a vaccine.

Kevin Hensley is given the J&J COVID vaccine in coordination with the Cook County Health Dept. and the Chicago White Sox. Recipients were given a $25 card for discounts on concessions before Game One of a doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 29, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.

David Banks | Getty Images

In order to administer millions of more inoculations in the next four weeks, the White House has said the president will take additional steps to encourage more people to get vaccinated and make it easier for them to do so.

In addition to the steps announced Wednedsay, the Biden administration has worked to make getting a vaccine “as easy as ever” with many vaccination sites across the U.S. offering walk-ins.

The administration in April launched a massive campaign to persuade more Americans to take the vaccines, which is using social media and virtual events where celebrities and athletes answer people’s lingering questions about the vaccines.

The CDC has updated its public health guidance to say that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a face mask or stay 6 feet away from others in most settings, whether outdoors or indoors. Many public health experts say the change was designed to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

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C.D.C. Says Vaccinated Camps Can Cease Masking and Distancing

C.D.C. Says Vaccinated Camps Can Stop Masking and Distancing

Federal health officials are encouraging young people aged 12 and over who are heading to camp this summer to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as soon as possible, saying on Friday that camps where all staff and campers are vaccinated can drop many Covid restrictions, including masks, and return to full capacity. Unvaccinated children can also go without masks most of the time when they are outside because the risk of transmission outdoors is low.

“For camps where everyone is fully vaccinated prior to the start of camp, it is safe to return to full capacity, without masking and without physical distancing,” the new guidance says.

In camps where not everyone is fully vaccinated, mask recommendations for all have been relaxed for most outdoor activities, unless the setting is crowded and involves sustained close contact. But other prevention strategies should be maintained, including physical distancing, grouping youngsters in cohorts or pods that don’t mix with one another; encouraging frequent hand washing; avoiding crowded settings and poorly ventilated indoor areas.

The guidance, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that if campers prefer to wear masks despite being fully vaccinated, camps should be supportive of their choice. Staff members and campers with compromised immune systems are urged to talk to their providers, and continue practicing precautions, like wearing masks.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated by the C.D.C. two weeks after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the second dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

“We’re going to start to see more and more adolescents fully vaccinated by mid summer, so it is possible that camps could provide a camp experience for children who are fully vaccinated, and you could get back to the camp experience that was pre-pandemic: no masking, no distancing, and all the activities you would normally do,” said Erin Sauber-Schatz, who leads the C.D.C. task force for community interventions and critical populations.

She noted that 2.5 million children aged 12 to 15 have received the first dose of a Pfizer vaccine in the last 18 days alone.

Individual camps will have the flexibility to determine both how they go about verifying the vaccination status of campers and how they run programs where not everyone is fully vaccinated, she said. They could mix vaccinated and unvaccinated campers or group them in separate cohorts with different rules, she said, or decide that in order “to keep non-vaccinated campers as safe as possible, they may have standard rules across the camp regardless of vaccination status.”

The guidance to campers comes after the agency’s recent recommendation that fully vaccinated people can choose to go maskless in most situations.

Though there is still no vaccine for children under the age of 12, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children aged 12 to 15 earlier this month. Younger children will probably be eligible for vaccination in the fall.

Tom Rosenberg, president and chief executive of the American Camp Association, a nonprofit that accredits camps, said the new guidance was issued just in time, as many camps in the southern United States start as early as next week.

But, he said, “The reality is that the majority of camps are for kids six years old to 17, so a good portion of the kids attending camp, by virtue of their age alone, will not be vaccinated. So camps are preparing to manage another Covid summer with a layered mitigation strategy, like last year.”

Federal health officials urged camps where campers are vaccinated to continue with other precautions, including making sure there is good ventilation in indoor spaces by keeping windows open, using fans and air filters; practicing good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; and cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas frequently.

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Business

CDC eases summer time camp Covid steerage, says absolutely vaccinated teenagers do not want masks

CDC eases summer camp Covid guidance, says fully vaccinated teens don't need masks

kali9 | E + | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday relaxed their public health guidelines for summer camps, stating that fully vaccinated teens do not need to wear face masks or stay three feet away from others.

Fully vaccinated teens should continue to wear masks when necessary, including at local businesses and in the workplace, according to the CDC. Camps can support staff or campers who continue to wear a mask even if they are vaccinated, the agency added.

While unvaccinated adolescents should continue to wear masks, the CDC said they generally do not need to wear masks outdoors unless they are in a “significant to high transmission” area, in a crowded environment, or during activities that involve continued close contact with others.

The CDC’s new guide is approaching Memorial Day holiday weekend, the start of the summer vacation and camping season for many Americans.

On Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky advised House lawmakers that the agency is revising its public health guidelines for summer camps to include vaccinated adolescents. Walensky approved expanded use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in 12 to 15 year olds two weeks ago.

As of Thursday, more than 165 million Americans 12 and older had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the CDC. According to the CDC, more than 132 million Americans 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

Previous CDC guidelines recommended that all children wear masks, regardless of vaccination, with some exceptions for certain activities such as eating, drinking, or swimming. It has been criticized by some public health experts and parents who say the risk of spreading Covid outdoors is low and children are less likely to develop serious illnesses.

“My whole goal is to make sure the camps stay open and there are no outbreaks,” Walensky said during the hearing. She added that her own children didn’t go to camp last summer. “I want the camps to be open this summer.”

The guidance also comes two weeks after the CDC said fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a face mask or stay 6 feet away in most environments, whether outdoors or indoors. People who were not vaccinated should continue to wear masks, the agency said, as they continue to be at risk of mild or serious illness, death, and the risk of the disease spreading to others.