We’re getting close: a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel is meeting today to decide whether to recommend Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11. If CDC head Dr. Rochelle Walensky signs off, the vaccine—which is one-third of the dose used for adolescents and adults—could be available as soon as tomorrow; the Biden Administration is already packing and shipping millions of doses. Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, has said the vaccine distribution program will be “fully up and running” next week.
As we’ve already learned, however, approval isn’t the only major obstacle that vaccines need to surmount before reaching the public: people need to be willing to get vaccinated, and they need the opportunity to get their shots. In this case, parents need to be won over, and that may be an uphill battle: polling suggests that only about a quarter are ready to get their little kids vaccinated right away, while nearly one-third say they will “definitely not” have their child vaccinated.
As I wrote yesterday, however, the U.S. is planning to rely on an important ally to help get kids vaccinated: schools. Fortunately, there's a long and impressive history of vaccinating kids in school. As Richard Meckel, a professor of American studies at Brown University, told me, “Schools have probably been the most important agent of the U.S. being a highly vaccinated population.” In the mid-20th century, for example, schools were instrumental in the fight to eliminate polio, by hosting vaccine trials, mandating shots and supporting the logistical efforts to get shots in arms. While polio caused about 15,000 cases of paralysis annually in the 1950s, no cases have been contracted in the U.S. since 1979.
Still, history indicates that promoting vaccination through schools will be politically sensitive. Only three states and the District of Columbia require HPV vaccination in schools today, in part because of parents’ backlash to early legislative efforts to mandate the shots. Given that many parents are already nervous about getting their children vaccinated, it will be essential for schools to tread carefully and do what they do best: provide accurate information—in this case, about vaccines.
Nearly 519 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, of which more than 423 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 58% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
More than 247.1 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 2 a.m. E.T. today, and about 5 million people have died. On Nov. 1, there were 416,564 new cases and 5,767 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 5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 46 million coronavirus cases as of 2 a.m. E.T. today. More than 747,000 people have died. On Nov. 1, there were 121,139 new cases and 1,201 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 Nov. 2, 2 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Russia reported 1,178 deaths today, its highest daily toll since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Reuters reports. Authorities in several regions said they plan to extend or expand restrictions to curb the spread: Pskov in western Russia, for instance, will continue to utilize a QR system for accessing some public spaces through the New Year. The CDC has added Russia to its list of countries that are the highest risk for travelers.
China yesterday urged local governments and families to stock up on food and other necessities to prepare for potential lockdowns as winter approaches, the New York Times reports. Prices there are currently jumping, in part because extreme weather has destroyed crops and disrupted food supplies. COVID-19 cases in China have remained low—there were fewer than 500 cases reported yesterday, and nearly 77% of its 1.4 billion people are vaccinated—but the country has been pursuing a “Zero COVID” policy, which aims to eliminate the virus. After a single person who visited Shanghai Disneyland tested positive, the city closed the park on Sunday, prevented anyone from leaving and tested 34,000 people, NPR reports.
Indonesia is now the first country to authorize a vaccine produced by Novavax and the Serum Institute of India, according to an announcement yesterday. The vaccine has been found to be more than 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, and it provides 100% protection against moderate and severe disease. Novavax has faced production and quality control issues that are holding up its approval in the U.S., the New York Times reported in August.
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 Tara Law and edited by Angela Haupt.
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