News
The Collegian: 4
November 15, 2021
Mass casualty event at Astroworld Festival
Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival resulted in nine deaths and hundreds of injuries. Shelby Hiens Student Writer Astroworld Festival is the annual music festival held in Houston, Texas run by Travis Scott. This year the event was scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6. However, after a crowd surge on the first night caused the deaths of nine attendees and the injuries of hundreds more, the second night of the festival was cancelled. Before Scott even took the stage, the Houston Fire Department had begun documenting concerns about the event as early as 9:23 a.m. At that time, the department logged, “Participants have breached main gate and bypassed Covid testing check-
Officials with the fire department stated that the location of the event, NRG Park, had a maximum capacity of more than 200,000 people, but the concert was limited to 50,000 guests. However, crowd estimates at around 9 p.m. reported 55,000 concertgoers with 3,000 to 5,000 of them having illegally breached the site. Scott appeared on stage at 9:02 p.m. and within the first several minutes of the show, a massive crowd surge had compromised the main stage. Over the next 40 minutes, officials began receiving 911 calls and reports of trampled and unconscious concertgoers flooded in. At 9:38 p.m. Houston officials declared that a mass casualty incident had occurred and event personnel were told to shut down the event. “The ultimate authority to end the show is with production and the entertainer,” Finner said in a news conference on Wednesday.
climbed a ladder to reach a platform where a cameraman was filming to plead for him to stop the show. A woman joined Cruz in yelling at the cameraman, but he waved them off and ignored their pleas. Scott seemed to notice something was happening 22 minutes into his performance as he said, “Make sure he good. Walk with him. Take him.” Six minutes later as a golf cart with flashing blue and red lights struggled to drive through the mass of fans, Scott said, “There’s an ambulance in the crowd,” and paused for about a minute before continuing the show. Eight people were confirmed dead on the night of Nov. 5. A ninth victim died on Nov. 10 after previously being declared brain-
dead due to injuries sustained during Scott’s event. The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27. There were 25 people hospitalized from the incident, the youngest patient being nine years old. The family of the nine year old boy disclosed that he has been put in a medically induced coma after injuries sustained to his heart, lungs and brain. Authorities have opened a criminal investigation but have not assigned any fault as of yet. “This is a very, very active investigation, and we will probably be at it for quite some time to determine what exactly happened,” Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said at a press briefing Nov. 6.
“Authorities have opened a criminal investigation but have not assigned any fault as of yet.” point.” At 10:02 a.m. the department reported damaged fences and having “no control of participants.” Reports of bolt cutters being used to enter the venue came later in the day. At 4:54 p.m. the Houston Police Department assessed “dangerous crowd conditions.” Chief Troy Finner of the police department met with Scott to communicate concerns about the conditions in the venue that afternoon and decided it was safe enough to proceed with the concert. “I had no reason to believe it wasn’t going to be safe,” Finner said.
The concert continued for more than 30 minutes until it was officially stopped at 10:10 p.m. Scott’s team stated that he did not know what was happening and was not informed of the tragedy until after the concert ended. “It was hours and hours after the concert when they actually found out about the tragedy and how it unfolded,” said Scott’s spokesperson, Stephanie RawlingsBlake. Multiple people attempted to get the attention of Scott and his production crew in order to stop the concert. Ayden Cruz, who attended the event with one of the victims,
Scott started Astroworld Festival in 2018.
courtesy Wikimedia Commons
FDA approves Pfizer vaccine for ages 5-11 The approval comes after a study showed strong protection with no serious side effects. Logan Guthrie Sports Editor On Oct. 29, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted approval for children within the age range of 5 to 11 years old to receive the Pfizer vaccination for the COVID-19 in emergency-use situations. The FDA described the approval vote as overwhelming,, 14-0, as the vaccine was shown in studies to be 90.7 percent effective in preventing the virus in children of this age group with no serious side effects. This decision has been received very well by many Americans. Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting Commissioner of the FDA, is quoted saying “As a mother and a physician, I know that parents, caregivers, school staff, and children have been waiting for today’s
authorization. Vaccinating younger children against COVID-19 will bring us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy.” Pfizer’s vaccination is significantly different to accommodate for 5-11 year olds, administering lower doses of only 10 micrograms (one third of the dose given to 12 year olds to adults) of the vaccine in two doses which are spread apart by three weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have demonstrated their support as well for the FDA’s decision that this meets the efficacy and safety concerns. Approximately 39 percent of cases of COVID-19 in the United States under the age of 18 fell within this age range, and a large amount led to hospitalization, giving strong motivation to get a version of the vaccine out as soon as possible to address such concerns. North Carolina was one state that jumped at the opportunity of having a vaccine for this age group. 24,000 children were vaccinated in the state within 24 hours of its opening, although this is only 3 percent of the state’s total population that is under the
Authorization came after the FDA similarly approved booster shots.
age of 11. This is likely to change as more and more children receive the vaccine, and concerns regarding safety of this vaccine have been alleviated. According to Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, the clinical trials for this vaccine were very extensive, and we should not cite the young age of these children as a reason to not get a vaccine.
mum to do what it is meant to do without significant concerns of serious adverse effects.” This vaccination approval is still relatively new as we reach the middle of November, and there is still much to be seen as to the effects it will have upon the dynamic of the U.S. as a whole in the fight against COV-
“‘Vaccinating younger children ... will bring us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy.’” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walenski echoes these sentiments, stating, “I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated,” Pediatric professor Dr. Sarah Long also agrees with this view of the situation, saying, “We have one more vaccine that saves lives of children. And that we should be very confident to deploy it to the maxi-
ID-19, but this is just the beginning in North America, as Canada will likely be following suit within the next few weeks of approving the Pfizer vaccine for 5 to 11 year old children. For updated and accurate information and research into the coronavirus and vaccines among other medical questions, please visit both the FDA and the CDC website in order to be informed on issues surrounding health and medical treatment in the United States.
courtesy Wikimedia Commons
