U.S. advisers endorse Pfizer COVID shot for kids 12 and up
U.S. health advisers endorsed use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12 on Wednesday — just as planned new guidelines say it’s OK for people of any age to get a coronavirus shot at the same time as other needed vaccinations.
The shots will let kids safely attend camps this summer and help assure a more normal return to classrooms next school year, concluded advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC rapidly accepted its advisers’ recommendation.
The CDC until now has recommended not getting other vaccinations within two weeks of a COVID-19 shot, mostly as a precaution so that safety monitors could spot if any unexpected side effects cropped up.
But the CDC said Wednesday it is changing that advice because the COVID-19 vaccines have proved very safe — and that health workers can decide to give another needed vaccine at the same time for people of any age.
The two-dose vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech was studied in more than 2,000 kids ages 12 to 15. There were no cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated kids compared with 16 in the group given dummy shots. Kids also developed higher levels of virusfighting antibodies than vaccinated adults.
U.S. deaths hit lowest level in 10 months
COVID-19 deaths in the United States have tumbled to an average of around 600 per day — the lowest level in 10 months, and confirmed infections have fallen to about 38,000 per day on average, their lowest mark since mid-September.
Ruling paves way for longer sentence for ex-cop in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge has ruled that there were aggravating factors in the death of George Floyd, paving the way for the possibility of a longer sentence for Derek Chauvin, according to an order made public Wednesday. In his ruling dated Tuesday, Judge Peter Cahill found Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty. Even so, legal experts have said Chauvin, 45, is unlikely to get more than 30 years when he is sentenced June 25.