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Thursday, June 16, 2022 • The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
www.sdvoice.info
COVID-19 UPDATES CDC Strengthens Recommendations,
Expands Eligibility for COVID-19
Booster Shots
Photo: CDC
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
T
he CDC is expanding eligibility of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to everyone 5 years of age and older. CDC now recommends that children ages 5 through 11 years should receive a booster shot 5 months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series. Since the pandemic began, more than 4.8 million children ages 5 through 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, 15,000 have been hospitalized and, tragically, over 180 have died. As cases increase across the country, a booster dose will safely help restore and enhance protection against severe disease. The CDC is also strengthening its recommendation that those 12 and older who are immunocompromised and those 50 and older should receive a second booster dose at least 4 months after their first. Over the past month we have seen steady increases in cases, with a steep
and substantial increase in hospitalizations for older Americans. While older Americans have the highest coverage of any age group of first booster doses, most older Americans received their last dose (either their primary series or their first booster dose) many months ago, leaving many who are vulnerable without the protection they may need to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death. Whether it is your first booster, or your second, if you haven’t had a vaccine dose since the beginning of December 2021 and you are eligible, now is the time to get one. She continued, “With cases increasing, it is important that all people have the protection they need, which is why, today, CDC has also strengthened another booster recommendation. Those 50 and older and those who are 12 and older and immunocompromised should get a second booster dose.”
Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya
US: Pfizer COVID-19 Shot Appears Effective For Kids Under 5 By Matthew Perrone and Mike Stobbe AP Medical Writers Federal health officials said Sunday, June 12, that kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5. The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the Pfizer shot ahead of a Wednesday, June 15, meeting where outside experts will vote on whether the shots are ready for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Kids under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S. Last week the FDA posted a similar analysis of Moderna’s shots for children under 6. If regulators clear the shots, vaccinations could begin as soon as next week, with drugmakers ready to ship doses ordered by the government. Parents have been pressing federal officials for months to protect their smallest children as more adults shed masks and abandon health precautions. While only 3% of U.S. COVID cases are in the age group 6 months to 4 years, hospitalization and death rates in that group are higher than those for older children, according to the FDA’s analysis. The FDA said children who received Pfizer’s shots during testing developed high levels of virus-fighting antibodies expected to protect them against coronavirus. That’s the basic threshold needed to win FDA authorization. But additional testing turned up key differences, with stronger results for Pfizer.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
COVID-19 STATUS TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES
803,293
Pfizer’s vaccine, given as a three-shot series, appeared 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, although that calculation was based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants. Moderna’s twodose series was only about 40% to 50% effective at preventing milder infections, though the two companies’ shots were tested at different times during the pandemic, when different variants were circulating. Moderna has begun testing a booster for tots. It’s not clear how much demand there will initially be for the shots. A recent survey suggests only 1 in 5 parents of young children would get their kids vaccinated right away. Vaccines have been available since November for older U.S. schoolchildren, yet less than a third of those ages 5 to 11 have gotten the two recommended doses, according to government figures. Each company is offering different dose sizes and number of shots, beginning at 6 months through 4 years for Pfizer and through 5 years for Moderna. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech plan to offer two shots three weeks apart followed by a third at least two months later — each one-tenth the dose given to adults. Pfizer is currently the only company with a COVID-19 vaccine for older U.S. children. More than 30,000 U.S. children younger than 5 have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and nearly 500 coronavirus deaths have been reported in that age group, according to U.S. health officials.
COUNTY COVID-19
VACCINATION STATUS BY RACE/ETHNICITY SAN DIEGO COUNTY RESIDENTS AGE 5 OR OLDER FULLY VACCINATED WITH BOOSTER Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander 44%
REPORTED TESTS
11,313,645
Black/ African American 27%
HOSPITALIZED
30,446
American Indian/ Alaska Native 21%
Hispanic/ Latino 31%
Asian 49% White 45%
ICU
2,178
SOURCE: County of San Diego. Last updated 6/9/2022
SOURCE: County of San Diego as of 6/9/22
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