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Teen Dies Minutes After Receiving Second Pfizer COVID Vaccine Shot
International Business Times reported:
A teenage girl in Vietnam died less than half an hour after she received her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the local medical center said.
The 9th grader, whose identity was not released by authorities, died Tuesday. She received her first Pfizer shot on Dec. 3, 2021, and experienced adverse reactions, including dizziness and difficulty breathing.
She received her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine Monday, and again developed adverse reactions such as tightness in her chest, dizziness, breathing difficulties and seizures, according to VN Express.
The girl received emergency treatment from medical officers at the vaccination site before being transferred to the Ha Hoa District medical center. Her condition rapidly deteriorated upon arrival at the hospital where she began to vomit blood. She later fell into a coma and died.
Preteens May Be Vaxed Without Parents Under California Bill
California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent, the youngest age of any state, under a proposed bill late Thursday by a state senator.
Alabama allows such decisions at age 14, Oregon at 15, Rhode Island and South Carolina at 16, according to Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who is proposing the change. Only Washington, D.C., has a lower limit, at age 11.
Wiener’s bill would lift the parental requirement for that age group for any vaccine that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York Medical Examiner Denies Report of Piling Bodies in Facilities Amid COVID Surge
New York City’s Chief Medical Examiner office is denying reports of backlogs within the office.
In a conversation with Newsweek, a spokeswoman for the office denied a report from the New York Post that was published on Thursday. The Post claims that a backlog of deaths at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office has resulted in hospitals having to deal with shifting dead patients around their facilities.
When contacted by Newsweek about the story, the Chief Medical Examiner’s Executive Director of Public Affairs Julie Bolcer disputed the claim, saying, “The medical examiner’s office does not have any backlogs, and we don’t have delays.”
Bolcer denied that there has been an overflow of bodies. In fact, the medical examiner’s office is creating more room to accommodate these deaths, which she said were due to a combination of a variety of factors.
A W.H.O. Panel Recommends Extending the Pfizer Vaccine to Children Ages 5 to 11
The World Health Organization, which has been resistant to endorse the wide use of booster shots and slow in recommending vaccinations for children, moved on Friday to revise its advice on both fronts, bringing its guidance closer to that of most wealthy nations, including the United States.
An advisory panel for the agency recommended expanding the use of a reduced dosage of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children aged 5 to 11. It also recommended that frontline healthcare workers, older adults and those in other high-risk groups who have been inoculated be offered a booster dose four to six months after their initial doses.
The committee had already authorized boosters for those whose immune systems are diminished.
Two Families Fought Hospitals to Allow Alternative COVID Treatments, Now Their Loved Ones Have Died
Two men on ventilators — one in Florida and one in Arizona — died within 24 hours of each other, even as their families were still fighting with hospitals for the chance to try alternative treatments.
After all other treatments offered by the hospitals failed, both families had begged to try ivermectin and other alternative treatments for COVID-19, as outlined in a protocol by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance.
Daniel Pisano, 70, had been fighting for his life in Mayo Clinic Florida since Dec. 11. His battle ended late Jan. 19. Stephen Judge, 69, had struggled to overcome his illness in Banner Ironwood Medical Center in Queen Creek, Arizona, since Nov. 17. He died on Jan. 20.
Is COVID Retreating in the U.S.? Data Paints Encouraging Scenario
New coronavirus cases are falling in parts of the United States hit hardest by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, according to a Reuters analysis of public health data, offering an early indication the virus might once again be in retreat.
COVID-19 infections have decreased in 19 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, an analysis of the past week through Thursday compared with the prior week showed.
Patient Beware: Some States Are Still Pushing Outdated COVID Treatments
As the Omicron variant completes its sweep across the U.S., states with scarce supplies of monoclonal antibody therapies continue to use two treatments that federal health officials warn no longer work against the highly contagious version of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The antibody treatment now most recommended is sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, and it’s in short supply.
The use of the newly ineffective treatments produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Co. is highest in a dozen states. Many hospitals and clinics are still infusing the costly treatments — often charging hundreds of dollars a session — that public health officials now say are almost certainly useless.
Here’s What We Know About ‘Stealth Omicron’ — the Fast-Moving Sub-Lineage of the Variant ‘Gaining Ground’ in Europe
The U.K. Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) announced Friday it is investigating a sub-lineage of the Omicron coronavirus variant — known as BA.2 and nicknamed by some scientists as “stealth Omicron” — that appears to be outpacing other forms of the variant around the world and is raising fears of an even more transmissible strain of the virus.
While cases are low in the U.K., BA.2 accounts for nearly half (45%) of Danish COVID-19 cases, according to Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut (SSI), part of its ministry of health, a jump from just 20% in the last week of 2021.
Aside from limited evidence on BA.2’s growth in some regions, there is not a lot of data on its behavior, including whether it is better able to evade immunity, causes more severe illness or how much more transmissible it might be over BA.1.
Hongkongers Launch Hamster Rescue Mission After COVID Cull Declared
Authorities and pet lovers in Hong Kong are locked in a game of cat and mouse, with citizens mounting a clandestine rescue operation for hamsters condemned to be euthanized over fears they could transmit COVID-19.
On Tuesday, government and health officials announced traces of the virus had been found on 11 hamsters, all in a pet shop where a 23-year-old staff member had fallen ill. They decided more than 2,000 of the imported animals, including any pets bought since Dec. 22, must be killed, and “strongly recommended” owners surrender their pets.
Residents sprung into action, offering to hide or adopt the doomed pets. Tens of thousands signed petitions, while others offered to fake backdated receipts to before Dec. 22, the Washington Post reported. Groups gathered outside collection facilities urging people not to hand over their animals.
