Today during a White House press briefing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said now that she has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, American schoolchildren have the chance to experience school "as we once one knew it, and as it should be."
Walensky and Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, both called today a monumental day in the nation's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and assured American parents that the use of vaccines in kids ages 5 to 11 would be safe, free, and convenient.
"We have been planning for this, and we are fully prepared," said Zients, who said the pediatric campaign will begin officially on Nov 8, but said some clinics and pharmacies have already begun to offer inoculations to kids.
"I want to speak directly to parents," Walensky said. "Please know we have conducted a thorough review of the safety data before recommending this vaccine for your child."
6.4 million kids have been infected
During a brief summary of how the pandemic has affected American children, top medical advisor Anthony Fauci, MD, said, "We have every reason in the world to get our kids vaccinated."
Nearly 101,000 new child COVID-19 cases were reported from Oct 21 to Oct 28, yet the numbers reflect the eighth consecutive weekly decrease in child cases, according to the latest update from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children represented 24.2% of reported weekly cases.
In total, more than 6.4 million US kids have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and most US school-aged children have experienced almost 2 full years of school disruptions due to the virus.
The federal government will start sending 15 million vaccine doses for children this week to distribution centers around the country, Reuters reports. The vaccine rollout for children will rely on pediatrician's offices, clinics, and pharmacies, and is expected to be running full steam by next week.
During the press briefing, Zients highlighted several hospital systems and states that have already mobilized to schedule thousands of doses. The Biden administration has bought enough of the reduced-dose Pfizer vaccine to vaccinate all 28 American children aged 5 to 11.
The CDC COVID Data Tracker shows that 58.1% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 66.9% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 10.3% have received a booster shot.
Cases rising across the country
The United States reported 72,754 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 1,461 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker.
The pace of new cases has risen 5.4% in the past week, according to a USA Today analysis of Johns Hopkins data. Cases are rising in 23 states.
In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis said over the weekend that hospitals in the state can turn away new admissions as they deal with a surge of COVID-19 cases, the Washington Post reports. There were more than 1,300 COVID patients hospitalized in Colorado at the beginning of the week.
Idaho state health officials said yesterday that the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations and new cases is dropping in the state, but numbers are still high enough to leave hospitals overtaxed, the Associated Press reports.
