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CDC Advisory Group On Kids’ Vaccine O
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By Jondi Gumz
n Oct. 20, an advisory committee to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously in favor of adding the Covid vaccine to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults. The existing schedule recommends 27 doses of vaccine between birth and age 6. Starting at 6 months, children should get the Covid vaccine, plus boosters, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The new bivalent boosters mix vaccine for the original no-longer circulating strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the recently dominant Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are far less deadly. The CDC, which is expected to sign off on the recommendation, plans to provide a recommended vaccine schedule in 2023. To expedite the review, federal officials asked drug-makers to test on mice rather than humans. Pfizer submitted data based on 8 mice. The CDC said its recommendation is not a mandate, noting the decision on vaccines required to attend school is a state or local decision. “Local control matters,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the ACIP meeting. “We honor that the decision around school entrance for vaccines rests where it did before, which is with the state level, the county level and at the municipal level, if it exists.” Kansas officials have no plans to require the Covid-19 vaccine to attend school. Texas law protects parents’ rights to decide their children’s vaccination. California’s SB 277 requires students be vaccinated to attend public school; no exemptions for personal belief. Homeschoolers are exempt. Covid cases in kids comprise 13% of cases and declined in October, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Tom Shimabukuro reported to ACIP that a boy died 13 days after his first dose of Pfizer Covid vaccine. The boy had a fever, then abdominal pain and vomiting in the emergency room before he died. The autopsy showed the cause of death was heart inflammation known as myocarditis; tests found no evidence of viral infection. The death was reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System, and verified by CDC. The committee members did not
discuss the death but determined Covid vaccine benefits outweigh the risks. The CDC stopped reporting Covid cases on Sept. 21, recognizing 95% of Americans 16 and up have some immunity, either from vaccination or infection. On Oct. 21, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, up to date with her vaccines, tested positive for Covid. She took Pfizer’s Paxlovid, then tested positive Oct. 31. Dr. Vinay Prasad of UC San Francisco asked, “What is the vaccine efficacy of the bivalent booster you have received?” He contends “the leadership at the White House has permitted this product to come to the US market without any credible evidence that it has any vaccine effectiveness. We simply don’t have human randomized data for clinical endpoints.” The very contagious BA.5 and waning immunity from vaccines boosted summertime cases. Now the CDC estimates BA.5 comprised 49.6% of cases as of Oct. 26, with new variants BQ.1 at 14%, BQ.1.1 at 13.1%, BA.4.6 at 9.6%, and BF.7 at 7.5%. On Sept. 12, the state health department reduced daily Covid updates to weekly. On Oct. 18, Gov. Newsom said California’s state of Covid-19 emergency will end Feb. 28. With the U.S. averaging 399 deaths a day, compared to 3,000 last winter when the Delta variant raged, there is no evidence the Omnicron subvariant causes more serious illness. Santa Cruz County reported 49 Covid deaths after Omicron, compared to 225 as of Dec. 15, before Omicron. In Santa Cruz County, one death was reported after a month of no fatalities. The last seven deaths were people who were vaccinated, according to the county dashboard, all 65 or older with medical conditions. Santa Cruz County reports 588 active cases and 64,000 since the pandemic began. On Wednesday, the state reported 4 people in Santa Cruz County hospitalized with a positive Covid test, none in intensive care. According to the Santa Cruz Office of Education, cases in schools peaked at 4,407 on Jan. 27, and are now 130. The 14-day positivity rate, 12.25% on January, is now 1.15%. Local information: www.santacruz health.org/coronavirus or (831) 454-4242 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon. through Fri. n
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www.tpgonlinedaily.com Scotts Valley Times / November 2022 / 19
