The FDA Authorized a COVID-19 Shot for Younger Kids
In a step many parents have been awaiting, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this afternoon granted emergency-use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
After reviewing evidence provided by Pfizer and taking into account the overwhelmingly positive recommendation of the agency’s independent advisory panel, FDA officials said the shot's benefits outweigh its potential risks for young kids. It has been shown to be more than 90% effective at preventing symptomatic disease among kids 5 to 11, with no serious side effects reported among a group of 3,000 children who participated in trials.
Like Pfizer-BioNTech's adult vaccine, the pediatric version is meant to be given in two doses, spaced three weeks apart. Each dose, however, is smaller than that given to adults.
The shot must still be recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before it is widely available to younger kids, but the FDA’s green light is a major step toward that outcome. The CDC's advisory committee will meet to discuss the shot next week.
If the CDC does recommend the shot for some or all 5- to 11-year-olds, the next challenge will be convincing parents to get it for their children. In a recent poll, almost 30% of U.S. parents with kids in that age group said they would vaccinate them right away, but another 35% said they either definitely wouldn't vaccinate or wouldn't unless required. The remaining chunk said they wanted to "wait and see."
That means health officials will have their work cut out for them—but the shot's high effectiveness and strong safety profile may convince some nervous parents.
About 510 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, of which more than 417 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. Nearly 58% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
More than 245.5 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 6 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 4.98 million people have died. On Oct. 28, there were 479,628 new cases and 8,514 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 4.7 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 45.8 million coronavirus cases as of 6 a.m. E.T. today. More than 743,300 people have died. On Oct. 28, there were 99,348 new cases and 1,776 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Oct. 29, 10 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
COVID-19 cases are once again rising globally, fueled by climbing numbers in Europe. The WHO yesterday said coronavirus caseloads are up 4% worldwide, even though they are falling in every region except Europe. Case counts have risen in Europe by 18% over the last week. “It’s another reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
That surge is in part due to vaccine hesitancy in Eastern Europe, the Associated Press reports. Russia, where only about a third of the population is vaccinated, yesterday reported its highest single-day death toll yet: 1,159. In Ukraine, where less than 20% of people are fully vaccinated, a record 27,000 cases were reported yesterday. Viral spread also appears to have bled into nearby Hungary, Poland and Czechia, even though all three have vaccination rates above 50%.
A new CDC report suggests vaccination provides better protection against COVID-19 than natural immunity. CDC researchers analyzed data from adults in nine states who were hospitalized with COVID-19-like illness. Everyone had either been previously infected or received two doses of an mRNA-based vaccine at least 90 days prior to hospitalization. The researchers found that unvaccinated but previously infected people were five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19, compared to fully vaccinated people. That finding strongly suggests that everyone should get vaccinated against the virus—even those who have already been sick.
As vaccine mandate deadlines draw nearer, institutions including the U.S. Air Force and the New York City fire and police departments are bracing for fallout. Air Force personnel were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Tuesday, but as many as 12,000 people will miss that date and potentially face discharge or discipline, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, about a third of New York City Fire Department employees and a quarter of the police force remain unvaccinated; if they don’t get their first doses by the city’s Monday deadline, they could be placed on unpaid leave, according to the New York Times . Mayor Bill de Blasio said he expects many people to get vaccinated just under the wire—but only time will tell.
An Israeli company is set to begin testing an oral COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa next month. Oramed Pharmaceuticals claims to have developed a pill that can be used as either an initial or booster COVID-19 inoculation, according to the Times of Israel. The pill is meant to be an accessible and easy-to-administer alternative to the traditional shot, but deployment can’t begin until it clears safety and efficacy trials. That process, just beginning in humans, could take months or longer.
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 have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Angela Haupt.
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