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CDC Sends Out Guidelines for Vaccinations of Kids 5 to 11 Years Old
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent out guidance last week on preparing to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 years old.
A panel for the Food and Drug Administration met last week, and will meet again Oct. 26, to discuss granting emergency authorization for use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in lower doses for children ages 5 to 11. The CDC is allowing states to order doses before the vaccines are authorized.
Connecticut to Order 150,000 Doses of COVID Vaccine for Children Ages 5 to 11
Connecticut plans to order 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 by the time those vaccines begin to get administered.
States are pre-ordering specialized doses for younger children in advance of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine for that purpose. Regulators are expected to vote on the matter in a meeting next Tuesday.
Chris Boyle, state Department of Public Health spokesman, said that pre-ordering will take place in three waves, with the first deadline set for Friday morning.
Only Very Old and Sick Die of COVID if Vaccinated, Italian Study Shows
People vaccinated against COVID-19 are highly unlikely to die of the disease unless very old and already badly ill before getting it, a study in Italy showed on Wednesday.
The study by the national Health Institute (ISS), contained in a regular ISS report on COVID-19 deaths, shows the average age of people who died despite being vaccinated was 85. On average they had five underlying illnesses.
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Little-Known Biodefense Work — It’s How He Became The Highest Paid Federal Employee
Forbes via Our Community Now reported:
In a January article published at Forbes, our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found that Dr. Anthony Fauci was the highest paid federal employee, earning $417,608 (2019). Dr. Fauci is still the top-paid federal employee earning $434,312 in 2020.
Now, new documents released via our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the NIH tell us a lot more. Dr. Fauci received a big pay hike for his biodefense research activities. In other words, Fauci was paid to prevent future pandemics.
White House Details Plans to Vaccinate 28M Children Ages 5 to 11
Children ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for younger children in a matter of weeks.
Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the benefits of giving shots to kids, after lengthy studies meant to ensure the safety of the vaccines.
Within hours of formal approval, expected after the Food and Drug Administration signs off and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel meeting scheduled for Nov. 2-3, doses will begin shipping to providers across the country, along with smaller needles necessary for injecting young kids, and within days will be ready to go into the arms of kids on a wide scale.
Gates Foundation Will Provide $120 Million to Ensure Generic Production of Merck’s COVID Pill
As concern mounts over access to COVID-19 remedies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committing up to $120 million to accelerate production of generic versions of an experimental Merck (MRK) pill to treat COVID-19 that would be available to dozens of low-income countries. But the effort was greeted with mixed reactions by patient advocates.
The Gates Foundation plans to provide different types of incentives so that eight generic manufacturers, all of which have already signed voluntary licensing deals with Merck, will be positioned to produce a sufficient quantity of the drug, called molnupiravir, as quickly as possible.
Why Aren’t COVID Breakthrough Cases by Vaccine Type Being Reported?
It appears as though government agencies are not tracking the number of breakthrough cases by specific vaccine or if they are, they are only loosely collecting data.
New York has a website dedicated to providing up-to-date information on breakthrough cases but it does not include vaccine-specific information.
Albany County reported 49% of new COVID cases were in fully vaccinated residents Tuesday. The county’s department of health said they also report breakthrough cases and vaccine-specific information. They said the information is self-reported by fully vaccinated COVID-positive residents and shared with the state through CommCare.
Booster Shots Could Soon Be Recommended for People as Young as 40, Source Says
Booster protection in the US could soon expand to a much broader population, as a source says the U.S. government likely will soon recommend them to people as young as 40 who received either Moderna or Pfizer‘s COVID-19 vaccine.
“I believe it will happen,” the source familiar with the plan told CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen, adding that there is “growing concern within the FDA” that U.S. data is beginning to show more hospitalizations among people under age 65 who have been fully vaccinated.
Some Eligible for COVID Booster Aren’t Flocking to It as Expected
Booster shots, which got off to a rocky start nationally, have yet to take hold among people age 65 and up.
“I think at the end of the day we might have lost the forest for the trees,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County Public Health Officer, remarking on how booster demand has lagged behind expectations.
By week’s end both the FDA and CDC are expected to fully authorize Moderna and Johnson and Johnson boosters, which will widen access and interest. Until now, only the Pfizer booster was available.
Erie Hospitals Seeing More Breakthrough COVID Patients, With Nearly 30% Fully Vaccinated
Erie hospitals are seeing more breakthrough cases of COVID-19 among their admitted patients.
Saint Vincent Hospital and UPMC Hamot officials each reported that their percentage of fully vaccinated patients increased this week from less than 20% of all COVID-19 admissions to nearly 30%.
Moderna Won’t Share Its Vaccine Recipe. WHO Has Hired an African Startup to Crack It
The World Health Organization has hired the company, called Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, as part of a $100 million plan to figure out how to make an mRNA vaccine against COVID that is as close as possible to the version produced by Moderna.
Until recently, Afrigen specialized in developing veterinary vaccines using fairly traditional methods. Now, says Afrigen’s Managing Director, Petro Treblanche, the company’s labs are a hive of research into the cutting-edge technology behind mRNA vaccines.
COVID Breakthrough Deaths Most Common Among Older Americans, Data Shows
Older Americans have been the most at risk of dying throughout the COVID pandemic. Now, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that adults over the age of 65 make up the bulk of breakthrough COVID deaths.
The data, published Friday, shows that 85 percent of the approximately 7,000 breakthrough COVID deaths recorded by the CDC have occurred in adults 65 and older. By comparison, adults at and over the age of 65 made up 76 percent of the more than 700,000 COVID deaths recorded by the CDC.
