Will an 18-year-old pop star convince young people that the COVID-19 vaccine is good 4 u?

Jul 16 2021

Young Americans are trying to return to the normalcy they’ve long yearned for since the pandemic started. And, well? Things are shaping up to be a little brutal out here. Americans between 12 and 29 are contracting COVID-19 at the highest rates while being the least protected — only 38 percent are vaccinated against the virus as of May 22, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. The vaccine is now available in every state for people 12 and older, but Gen Z and younger millennials remain hesitant for various reasons, from not feeling any urgency to believing disinformation — messages that are sometimes spread by elected officials. The Tennessee Department of Health stopped all vaccination outreach efforts toward minors after pressure from Republican lawmakers in the state, according to records obtained by the Tennessean.

Source: PBS

Experts warn full Covid-19 vaccine approval is no quick fix for hesitancy

Jul 16 2021

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration issuing full approval for two Covid-19 vaccines might not be the game-changer it’s chalked up to be, according to a number of leading public health experts. Increasingly, some academics and physicians have pushed back on the popular narrative that the FDA is needlessly delaying full approvals for the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus shots — and spurring vaccine hesitancy by doing so. While full approvals might encourage a handful of Americans to finally get vaccinated, they argue, it’s more important for the agency to make clear that the eventual approvals are motivated by science and not by public pressure.

Source: Stat News

Vaccines will get full FDA approval, Fauci predicts

Jul 16 2021

Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that the FDA giving Covid vaccines full approval is “only a technical issue” and that the hundreds of millions of people across the world who have been vaccinated serve as evidence that “the effectiveness and the safety of the vaccines are very high.” As of July 4, about 157 million Americans were fully vaccinated, almost half of the population. Many people are hesitant or have decided to wait to be vaccinated until the vaccines shift from being labeled “emergency use authorization” to “fully approved.”

Source: Politico

Most fully vaccinated people who get Covid delta infections are asymptomatic, WHO says

Jul 16 2021

People who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are still getting infected with the delta variant, but global health officials said the shots have protected most people from getting severely sick or dying. “There are reports coming in that vaccinated populations have cases of infection, particularly with the delta variant,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said at a press briefing Monday. “The majority of these are mild or asymptomatic infections.”

Source: CNBC

The Pandemic Has Worsened Childhood Vaccination Rates Around The World

Jul 16 2021

Nearly 23 million children around the world missed out on routine childhood vaccinations last year due to service disruptions from the pandemic, the World Health Organization and UNICEF report. In a new analysis released Thursday that highlights data from around the world, the two organizations said immunization rates among children fell in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

Source: NPR

Surgeon general issues warning over vaccine misinformation as White House turns up the heat on Facebook

Jul 16 2021

"I am urging all Americans to help slow the spread of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond," Murthy wrote in a 22-page advisory released Thursday. "Health misinformation is a serious threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, harm people's health, and undermine public health efforts. Limiting the spread of health misinformation is a moral and civic imperative that will require a whole-of-society effort."

Source: CNN

US is 'losing time' in vaccination race as Delta variant becomes more pervasive, expert says

Jul 16 2021

(CNN)Covid-19 vaccination rates are down and cases are on the rise, exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant -- and an expert says the key to winning the race against the spread is getting more Americans vaccinated. "We're losing time here. The Delta variant is spreading, people are dying, we can't actually just wait for things to get more rational," Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health told CNN on Wednesday.

Source: CNN

Covid vaccines for kids under 12 expected midwinter, FDA official says

Jul 16 2021

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.

Source: NBC

These States Have Banned COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements in Schools

Jul 16 2021

Key Takeaways Reports this week say Tennessee will prohibit its Department of Health from promoting vaccinations for all diseases and will end COVID-19 vaccination clinics on school property. Some states bar schools from requiring that students are vaccinated or show proof of vaccination to attend in-person learning. At least 34 states legislatures have proposed such bills and at least 7 have signed them into law.

Source: Very Well Health

The Anti-Vaxx Party Is Taking Shape

Jul 16 2021

The COVID-19 vaccines are saving lives, but watch Newsmax, and you’d never be able to tell. “I’m not a doctor,” host Rob Schmitt recently warned, before adding, “I feel like a vaccination in a weird way is just generally kind of going against nature.” Perhaps “there’s just an ebb and flow to life where something’s supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people, and that’s just kind of the way evolution goes. Vaccines kind of stand in the way of that.”

Source: NY Mag