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Children make up just 22% of the U.S. population but account for 27% of coronavirus cases nationwide, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported on Monday.
The organization said the number of children receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine this week was the lowest number since the vaccines became available, and has been trending down for nearly two months.
Children account for less than 1% of deaths from COVID-19, the Academy said, but there is not much data on the long-term effects of the coronavirus on children. Since the start of the pandemic, 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19, and less than half of eligible children have been fully immunized.
Children aged 5 to 11 – who make up 14.5% of the U.S. population – are not yet approved to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but recent action from the Food and Drug Administration suggests that may change soon. The FDA has scheduled a meeting of the independent committee, which advises the administration on vaccine and drug approvals, for the end of October.
Pfizer-BioNTech says data shows their vaccine to be safe and effective in children aged 5 to 11, and has recommended one-third of the dose used for those aged 12 and older. The company submitted clinical trial data to the FDA last Wednesday.
If the FDA and a second federal advisory committee approve vaccines for young children, inoculations could begin before Halloween.
Also in the news:
►Washington state health officials said on Monday that a woman in her 30s died of rare blood clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The woman is believed to be the fourth person in the United States to die of possible blood clotting problems after receiving the J&J vaccine.
►CDC says unvaccinated Americans should delay planned trips to the country until they have had their COVID-19 vaccines.
►In a note to the FBI and state attorneys general, Attorney General Merrick said the “worrying spike” in harassment, intimidation and threats against school board members and staff should be discouraged and continued on. optionally. The clashes focused on COVID-19 protocols as well as how classrooms approach race and fairness.
►Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health for 12 years, said on Tuesday he was stepping down, ending a career in which he led crucial research on the human genome and the fight against serious diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and COVID. -19.
►Customs and border protection officials found 41 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards on Monday at a Chicago postal center. The cards were found in shipments from China heading to cities in Texas.
►New York City’s vaccination mandate for school staff survived a court challenge on Tuesday as state hospitals reported little disruption to their services due to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health workers.
The numbers of the day: The United States has recorded more than 43 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 705,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: Over 235 million cases and 4.8 million deaths. More than 215 million Americans – 65% of the population – are fully immunized, according to the CDC.
??What we read: For more than a year, the pandemic has forced parents to take care of children and housework full-time in addition to their regular work. While most of this extra workload falls on women, an unprecedented number of men are spending more time at home than ever before, sometimes looking after their children full-time because they have lost their jobs. or earned less than their partner. Read more here.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates straight to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Florida is the only state not to submit a plan for COVID funds; The US Department of Education wants to know why
The US Department of Education sent a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Monday asking why his agency had not submitted a $ 7 billion federal aid plan for local schools.
The state received two-thirds of the money, but did not provide a plan by the June 1 deadline, and also missed the July and August submission deadlines after discussing with ministry staff. State education. Once the plan is approved, the state would receive the remaining $ 2.3 billion.
Florida is the only state that has not filed a plan for that money. Christina Pushaw, press secretary to Governor Ron DeSantis, said “no district has expressed a need for funding that cannot be met with the resources currently available.”
But districts across the state need billions to cover COVID-19 leave to pay employees to stay home, install air purifiers, and upgrade HVAC systems to improve the quality of their work. air due to COVID, said Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Educators Association, the state’s teachers’ union. and the largest association of professional employees.
– Jeffrey Schweers, Florida Capital Office
The pandemic changed American education overnight. Some of these changes are here to stay.
While the school year is underway, schools and parents are still burdened with COVID-19 cases, contact tracing and quarantines. Distance learning has returned in some cases. In others, the children have returned home without work. Unlike last year, most classrooms are open, but they operate amid shifting health recommendations and often battles over masks.
When will school return to normal? Many educators, parents, and students look past health barriers and say: Never.
While the pandemic has compounded inequalities in many ways, schools of all kinds have seen “tremendous adaptations during the pandemic that we had not wanted to accept before,” said Paul Reville, a professor at Harvard University who runs the Education Redesign Lab.
Experts believe some of the shakes caused by 2020 in the system will remain permanent, propelling education into a more personalized, modernized and responsive space that allows more students to succeed through high school and beyond. Read more here.
-Erin Richards
Home tester recalls hundreds of thousands of kits due to false positives
An Australia-based company is recalling hundreds of thousands of coronavirus tests after discovering that certain Ellume COVID-19 home tests give higher false positive results than expected.
Ellume became the first company to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell consumer kits at major retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Target, and Amazon. The kits do not require a prescription and get results in minutes.
But the company discovered false positive results at higher rates than the company’s original clinical studies showed and “has isolated the cause and confirmed that this incidence of false positives is limited to specific batches.”
The company has recalled 43 lots shipped from April to August to retailers, distributors and the Department of Defense. Ellume said affected customers will be notified through the Ellume COVID-19 home test app. Within two weeks, the company will send an email to consumers who test positive with a recalled product, the company said.
– Ken Alltucker
Arizona program to deter COVID warrants breaks rules, says federal government
Gov. Doug Ducey’s programs that reward school districts for not imposing COVID-19-related warrants violate federal rules, and Treasury officials on Tuesday warned they could recover federal stimulus dollars unless the State does not make changes.
Before Arizona received an upfront payment of $ 2 billion from the American Rescue Plan, the state agreed to follow spending terms that included addressing “the fiscal effects of the public health emergency. COVID-19, in particular by supporting efforts to stop the spread of the virus ”. the Treasury Department’s second-in-command wrote in a letter to Ducey on Tuesday.
But two programs Ducey announced in August “undermine evidence-based efforts” to stop the coronavirus and are “not an authorized use” of money, the letter said. At least $ 173 million has been set aside for these programs.
Federal Treasury officials have given Ducey 30 days to “fix the problems” with these programs. The penalty for not doing so could include Arizona having to repay the federal dollars it received, according to the Treasury letter signed by Assistant Secretary Adewale “Wally” O. Adeyemo.
– Stacey Barchenger, Republic of Arizona
NBA star says he was ‘forced’ to get vaccinated or not to play
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who had become a face of vaccine resistance in the sports world, explained why he received the COVID-19 vaccine, saying he felt “forced” to receive the vaccine.
Wiggins had been hesitant to shoot and was in danger of losing half of his $ 31.5 million salary for the 2021-22 season if he didn’t.
The city of San Francisco, where the Warriors play their home games, requires anyone over the age of 12 to be vaccinated to attend indoor events. At the Chase Center, Golden State players will need proof of vaccination to enter the building.
“The only options were to get the shot or not to play in the NBA,” Wiggins said Monday. “It was a tough decision. I hope it works in the long term and in 10 years I’m still healthy.”
Wiggins said he received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and added that he was the only one in his family to be vaccinated.
– Scooby Axson, USA TODAY
New Jersey’s largest health care system says 99% at least partially immunized
New Jersey’s largest healthcare system, Hackensack Meridian Health, said on Tuesday that more than 99% of its 36,000 employees are now fully vaccinated or have received their first of two COVID-19 vaccines.
In the largest example to date of the effectiveness of employer vaccine requirements in New Jersey, this represents a 28% increase since the system notified employees of the requirement in July. An additional 10,080 people were at least partially vaccinated.
Hackensack Meridian provides care in 17 hospitals, 12 nursing homes, three assisted living facilities and hundreds of other locations from Bergen to Atlantic counties. Everyone from janitors to cardiac surgeons, from per diem employees to full-time staff, were required to comply with vaccine requirements.
An injection was required by October 1 and November 15 is the deadline for full vaccination.
– Lindy Washburn, The Bergen Record
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: American children account for disproportionate number of COVID cases: updates
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