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151 Dead, 563 Hospitalized in Illinois Breakthrough COVID Cases
According to data updated Wednesday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, 151 people in Illinois have died due to COVID-19 or complications after being fully vaccinated. That figure equates to 2.2% of COVID-19 deaths in the state since Jan. 1, officials said.
At least 563 fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized in Illinois, IDPH said. The state only reports breakthrough infections among those who have been hospitalized or died, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH said.
Nearly 11,000 Deaths After COVID Vaccines Reported to CDC, as FDA Adds New Warning to J&J Vaccine
Data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) included 463,457 reports of injuries and deaths, across all age groups, following COVID vaccines — an increase of more than 25,000 compared with the previous week.
The data comes directly from reports submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System(VAERS), the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S.
Every Friday, VAERS makes public all vaccine injury reports received as of a specified date, usually about a week prior to the release date. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before a causal relationship can be confirmed.
COVID Vaccines: Hypothetical Benefits to Adults Don’t Outweigh Risks to Children
As the majority of adults in multiple rich western countries have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the focus is turning to children.
While there is wide recognition that children’s risk of severe COVID-19 is low, many believe that mass vaccination of children may not just protect children from severe COVID-19, but also prevent onward transmission, indirectly protecting vulnerable adults and helping end the pandemic.
However, there are multiple assumptions that need to be examined when judging calls to vaccinate children against COVID-19.
U.S. FDA to Decide on Pfizer COVID Vaccine Approval by January 2022
The U.S. health regulator will review Pfizer (PFE.N) and German partner BioNTech SE’s (22UAy.DE) application for full approval of their COVID-19 vaccine in people 16 years and older by January, the companies said on Friday.
The vaccine is among the three being used in the United States under the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization alongside shots from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N)and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O).
Pfizer/BioNTech finished submitting their application for a full U.S. approval in May and the agency will review the data under its “priority review” pathway.
COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 12 Expected Midwinter, FDA Official Says
Emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccines in children under 12 could come in early to midwinter, a Food and Drug Administration official said Thursday, a move that could bring relief to many parents who have been unable to vaccinate their children. The agency hopes to then move quickly to full approval of the vaccine for this age group.
One sticking point for some families who remain hesitant, the official said, is that the vaccines currently in use are administered under emergency use authorization and have not been given full approval by the FDA. Full approval, if it comes quickly after the emergency round, could alleviate that concern.
EU Likely to Decide on Moderna COVID Vaccine for Kids Next Week
A top official at the European Medicines Agency said a decision on whether to recommend that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine be authorized for children is expected late next week. If approved, it would be the first such license for the shot’s use in children globally.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Dr. Marco Cavaleri, the EU drug regulator’s head of vaccines strategy, said its expert committee was currently evaluating Moderna’s application to extend the use of its coronavirus vaccine for children 12 to 17 years old.
“We expect that the committee will reach a conclusion by the end of next week,” he said.
Royal Navy Flotilla Reports COVID Outbreak With 100 Cases Despite All Sailors Being Vaccinated
More than 100 cases of coronavirus have been reported aboard the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier and an escorting group of warships.
The vessels affected include the Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier, with unconfirmed media reports saying the group of warships recently stopped off for a brief spell of shore leave in Limassol, Cyprus.
The virus has spread through the strike group’s 3,700 strength crew despite them being fully vaccinated. “As part of routine testing, a small number of crew from the Carrier Strike Group have tested positive for COVID-19,” a Royal Navy spokesman confirmed in a statement.
Lisa Shaw Death: Husband Calls for Vaccine Choice
A man whose wife’s death is being investigated over possible links to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab is calling for people to have their choice of vaccine. A coroner is considering if the vaccine contributed to the death of BBC radio presenter Lisa Shaw, 44, in May.
Her husband Gareth Eve said the jab had been “outstanding” but its “risks” should be “recognised”….
Mr Eve said he and his wife, who was a presenter on BBC Radio Newcastle, had both been “excited” about being vaccinated so she could “give her mam a hug” having been a “stickler” for following lockdown rules. A week after getting her first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, she started getting headaches and ended up being taken to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) for treatment for blood clots.
Pentagon: 70 Percent of Service Members Have Received First Dose of COVID Vaccine
Seventy percent of U.S. active duty service members have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the Pentagon announced on Friday, and 62 percent of the force is now fully vaccinated.
The latest numbers come despite initial skepticism from a broad swath of the military toward the shot. In February, members of the top brass testified before Congress that roughly one-third of troops had declined to get vaccinated.
Such hesitancy among America’s armed forces prompted a group of Democratic lawmakers in March to demand President Joe Biden make the vaccine a requirement for all service members. At the time, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson confirmed that option was under consideration by military leaders.
AP Source: 2 NFL Teams Remain Under 50% Vaccinated
Two NFL teams remain under 50% vaccinated less than two weeks from the start of training camp, a person familiar with the vaccination rates told The Associated Press.
As for Friday, Washington and Indianapolis had the two lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates among the 32 teams in the league, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t released the numbers, which are changing daily.
China Should Provide Raw Data on Pandemic’s Origins – WHO’s Tedros
The head of the World Health Organisation said on Thursday that investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in China were being hampered by the lack of raw data on the first days of spread there and urged it to be more transparent.
A WHO-led team spent four weeks in and around the central city of Wuhan with Chinese researchers and said in a joint report in March that the virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal.
It said that “introduction through a laboratory incident was considered to be an extremely unlikely pathway”, but countries including the United States and some scientists were not satisfied. “We ask China to be transparent and open and to cooperate,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Thursday.
