Pfizer says the vaccine works in children; Lawmakers will discuss the backlog of VEC; Best time of the week

RICHMOND, Virginia (WWBT) – Good Monday! Here’s a look at our top stories before you start your work week.

Best time of the week

It will be a beautiful Monday before a high likelihood of midweek rain with near fall temperatures coming soon.

Lows in the mid-60s with highs in the 80s today. Fall begins at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Pfizer says vaccine works in children

Pfizer said on Monday that it COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will soon seek US clearance for this age group – a key step towards the start of vaccinations for young people.

It’s already available to anyone 12 and over, but with kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge rise in pediatric infections, many parents are eagerly awaiting vaccines for their youngsters. children.

For school-aged children, Pfizer tested a much lower dose, one-third of the amount in each injection currently. Yet after their second dose, children aged 5 to 11 developed levels of anti-coronavirus antibodies as strong as adolescents and young adults.

A second American vaccine maker, Moderna, is also studying its vaccines in school-aged children. Pfizer and Moderna are also studying even younger toddlers, up to 6 months old. The results are expected later this year.

RPS plans to modify its presence policy

Leaders at Richmond Public School are considering changing its attendance policy due to the pandemic.

Under current rules, any student who misses more than 18 days of school – about 10% of the year – could be held up for a year or forced to retake a course. But now, as principals encourage children to stay at home – especially if they are exposed to the coronavirus – the board is considering suspending the policy for this year.

It also comes as RPS announces that there is more e-learning places available for middle and high school learners.

RPS principals will meet at 6 p.m. to discuss these changes as well as negative reactions to its school lunches. Parents can watch the meeting on the RPS Facebook page.

RPS has had nearly 150 positive cases of COVID-19 since classes began less than two weeks ago.

Chesterfield County School Case

In Chesterfield, the Virginia Department of Health is reporting more outbreaks in schools, giving us a better idea of ​​how COVID-19 is spreading in classrooms.

One is at St. Edward Epiphany School, a Catholic school in Bon Air. The health service reports 7 connected cases there.

An epidemic has also been reported at LC Bird high school, but the department does not disclose the number of cases linked to it, to “preserve anonymity”.

Chesterfield schools reported 836 cases in the first month of school. As of Friday, more than 2,200 students were in quarantine.

And the other neighborhoods?

Buckingham High School and Powhatan High School both have an outbreak each.

Goochland High School has three outbreaks with an unknown number of cases.

Henrico high school has two epidemics with at least 5 cases.

And two schools in Spotsylvania each have a large epidemic.

Vaccination efforts continue

Statewide efforts to get Virginians vaccinated continue, including at a community health neighborhood party in Richmond over the weekend.

Residents could visit local businesses and get one of three COVID-19 vaccines.

Currently, the number of people vaccinated is slowly increasing.

Virginia Department of Health reports more than 59 percent of all Virginians are fully vaccinated.

Friday, more than 4,200 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported.

Lawmakers to discuss VEC backlog

State lawmakers will meet Monday morning to discuss progress made by the Virginia Employment Commission, nearly four months after being ordered to correct a backlog of 92,000 cases.

After a judge ordered the commission to deal with widespread issues, officials opened a call center and updated computer systems, ultimately reviewing all complaints.

While the majority of claims were resolved before the Labor Day deadline, some say it all caused a further delay with cases that were filed while the VEC caught up.

Now, state lawmakers will present their findings from a review of VEC’s complaints handling, call center performance, modernization of its IT system, and management of the VEC’s response. agency to the pandemic. A final report will be published in November.

Recycling delays could continue

The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority says it continues to struggle with industry-wide driver and aid shortages as well as truck issues.

They plan to reach most people on the “Blue Friday” schedule today. The crews will then work to catch up throughout “Red Week”.

You are invited to take out your container on the day of your collection, but be aware that it could be collected a day later.

Volunteers wanted

The The children’s museum has a new playground, but they need your help to build it.

Volunteers from the Children’s Museum of Richmond and CarMax begin construction this morning and end Wednesday.

If you want to volunteer, you can choose between morning or afternoon shifts. No experience is necessary. Find more details here.

Final thought

“When you wake up in the morning, think about what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. “- Marcus Aurelius

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