Meet the Kids Volunteering for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
It’s one of the few blessings of the coronavirus pandemic that, generally speaking, children aren’t as vulnerable to severe cases as adults. That parents like me can be reasonably confident that our children won’t die of COVID-19 has been one fewer thing to worry about in a year with no shortage of other horrors to worry about.
But children—especially older ones, who more biologically resemble adults—can and do catch and transmit the virus, and some get sick and even die from it. About 800,000 children have tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S. so far, and the American Academy of Pediatrics reported a 13% increase in pediatric cases over the first two weeks of October. So, it’s urgent that, as pharmaceutical companies develop their vaccines, they check for safety and efficacy in not just adults, but children, too. To do that, my colleague Jeffrey Kluger reports, they need to enlist young, brave volunteers—with permission of their no-less-brave parents, of course.
“In the early 2000s I wrote a book on Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine and always admired the 600,000 children who stepped forward to test the vaccine and became known as ‘Polio Pioneers,’” says Jeff, who recently spoke with the parents of a handful of adolescent vaccine volunteers. “The kids in the COVID-19 trials are no less heroic.”
The volunteers’ parents are in part motivated by a hope that their children will receive a safe and effective vaccine earlier than others who wait for the public rollout. “I raised it to my son and we felt that it might be a good thing for him because if he got the vaccine, it could protect him from getting the virus himself,” said one parent (though study participants can’t be sure if they’re getting the real deal or a placebo). But the families are also thinking in more noble terms "We feel like normal, every-day people that are just doing a little teeny-tiny thing that we believe will help lots of people," said Laurie Evans, the mother of a 16-year-old enlisted in Pfizer’s Phase 3 trials.
As a parent, I’d be proud of my son if he decided to join up with Evans and the other thousands of child volunteers exposing themselves to danger so that others might be kept a little safer. But he’s only been around for a year, so free will remains a bit out of the question. Instead, I asked Jeff how he’d feel, given that his kids are old enough to express a reasonable opinion about the matter. “I have to confess that I would be nervous if they volunteered, as any parent would be,” he said. “But I trust the science and would be proud of their being part of the trial.”
More than 46.5 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 1.2 million people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Nov. 1, there were 446,707 new cases and 4,985 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 500,000 confirmed cases:
In a move reflecting the global politicization of coronavirus mitigation measures, U.K. politician Nigel Farage, a staunch Brexiteer who recently made a surprise appearance at an Arizona rally for U.S. President Donald Trump, is relaunching his Brexit Party as an anti-lockdown movement called “Reform UK,” the BBC reports. In an email to supporters promoting the discredited “herd immunity” strategy, Farage called for “focused protection” for vulnerable groups, while letting others “get on with life.” “We must learn to live with the virus not hide in fear of it,” reads the email.
Almost half of Slovakia’s 5.45 million people were tested for COVID-19 over the weekend, The Guardianreports, as part of a massive government effort to identify people who are infected, and can then self-isolate to curb the spread of the virus. About 26,000, or 1%, of those tests came back positive. Slovakia has reported nearly 60,000 cases but just 219 deaths, though the situation across Europe has worsened dramatically in recent weeks.
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and second in line to the U.K. throne, tested positive for the coronavirus in April but the diagnosis was kept secret, according to The Sun and corroborated by the BBC. “William was hit pretty hard by the virus—it really knocked him for six,” an anonymous source told the Sun. Kensington Palace is not commenting on the reports.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 9.2 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. Nearly 231,000 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Nov. 1, there were 81,493 new cases and 447 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
The day before Election Day, COVID-19 continues to rage across the country. A handful of states, including Colorado (2,924), Iowa (2,788) and North Dakota (1,433), hit new single-day coronavirus case records over the weekend. That comes after the country as a whole hit a new single-day record of 99,321 on Friday, just before Halloween celebrations. It’s also only a few weeks until Thanksgiving, when at least some families are likely to get together despite warnings from public-health officials that small, indoor gatherings are driving the U.S. third wave.
During a campaign rally in Florida last night, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he might fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, longtime head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, following tomorrow’s election. “Don’t tell anybody but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Trump said after chants of “Fire Fauci” rang up from the crowd. Trump’s comment is his latest in a recent spate of late-election attacks against Fauci and other government scientists and experts working to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Nov. 2, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Pandemic Is Costing Americans More Money Than Official Numbers Suggest
Household spending and inflation is calculated in part by using what’s called the Consumer Price Index, which tracks the cost of an annually adjusted “basket” of goods and services. But the basket hasn’t been changed since the pandemic radically altered Americans’ consumption patterns. So, one researcher set out to create an alternative “COVID CPI”—and found that household spending is up more than official data suggest. Read more here.
There May Be a Link Between COVID-19 and Preterm Birth, CDC Says
Women who contract the coronavirus early in their pregnancy may be at a higher risk of early delivery, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shed new light on yet another of the virus’ little-understood ancillary effects. Read more here.
WHO Let China Take Charge in Hunt for Pandemic’s Source
While searching for the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization made significant concessions to China that complicated the investigation, according to the New York Times.Read more here.
This Uber Driver Died of COVID-19. What Happens Now?
After Khaled Zayyid, a 56-year-old Uber driver, died of the coronavirus in July, his family applied for relief through California’s workers’ compensation program. But because Uber classifies drivers like Zayyid as contractors rather than employees, their application was rejected, costing them as much as $320,000 in benefits, the Los Angeles Times reports; the story comes as Californians vote on a ballot measure that could permanently change how “gig economy” companies like Uber treat their workers. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.
Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
沒有留言:
張貼留言