FDA vaccine advisers move COVID-19 shots closer for kids under 5
COVID-19 shots for U.S. infants, toddlers and preschoolers moved a step closer Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the youngest kids.
The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 — that’s roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children.
If all the regulatory steps are cleared, shots should be available next week.
“This is a long-awaited vaccine,” said one panel member, Dr. Jay Portnoy of Children’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. “There are so many parents who are absolutely desperate to get this vaccine and I think we owe it to them to give them a choice to have the vaccine if they want to.”
Dr. Peter Marks, FDA’S vaccine chief, opened the meeting with data showing a “quite troubling surge’’ in young children’s hospitalizations during the omicron wave, and noted 442 children under 4 have died during the pandemic. That’s far fewer than adult deaths, but should not be dismissed in considering the need for vaccinating the youngest kids, he said.
FDA reviewers said both brands appear to be safe and effective for children as young as 6 months old in analyses posted ahead of the all-day meeting. Side effects, including fever and fatigue, were generally minor in both, and less common than seen in adults.
The two vaccines use the same technology but there are differences. In a call with reporters earlier this week, vaccine experts noted that the shots haven’t been tested against each other, so there’s no way to tell parents if one is superior.
If the FDA agrees with its advisers and authorizes the shots, there’s one more step. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will decide on a formal recommendation after its own advisers meet Saturday. If the CDC signs off, shots could be available as soon as Monday or Tuesday at doctor’s offices, hospitals and pharmacies.
Fauci tests positive: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, was experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institutes of Health.
Fauci, 81, has not recently been in close contact with President Joe Biden or other senior government officials. He tested positive on a rapid antigen test. He is following public health guidelines and his doctor’s advice, and will return to work at the NIH when he tests negative, according to the statement.
US abortions rise: The number and rate of U.S. abortions increased from 2017 to 2020 after a long decline, according to figures released Wednesday.
The report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, counted more than 930,000 abortions in the U.S. in 2020. That’s up from
about 862,000 abortions in 2017, when national abortion figures reached their lowest point since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide.
About 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in abortion in 2020, according to the report, which comes as the Supreme Court appears ready to overturn that decision.
Medication abortions, the two-drug combination sometimes called the “abortion pill,” accounted for 54% of U.S. abortions in 2020, the first time they made up more than half of abortions, Guttmacher said.
Hinckley oversight ends:
John Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was freed from court oversight Wednesday, officially concluding decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals.
The lifting of all restrictions had been expected since late September. U.S. District Court Judge
Paul Friedman in Washington had said he would free Hinckley on June 15 if he continued to remain mentally stable in the community in Virginia where he has lived since 2016.
Hinckley, who was acquitted by reason of insanity, spent the decades before that in a Washington mental hospital.
Freedom for Hinckley, 67, will include giving a concert — he plays guitar and sings — in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, which is scheduled for July. He has gained nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter and Youtube in recent months as the judge loosened Hinckley’s restrictions before fully lifting all of them.
Gaza aid worker convicted:
An Israeli court Wednesday found a Gaza aid worker guilty of several terrorism charges in a high-profile case in which his employer, independent auditors and the Australian government say they have found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Mohammed el-halabi, the Gaza director for the international Christian charity World Vision, was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to the Islamic militant group Hamas that rules the territory. The trial and his prolonged detention have further strained relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations that provide aid to Palestinians.
El-halabi’s lawyer, Maher Hanna, has said his client turned down several plea bargain offers on principle that would have allowed him to walk free.
El-halabi has not yet been sentenced. World Vision said he would appeal the ruling, which was largely based on classified information that has not been made public but was shared with the defense.
Rice loses SC seat: U.S. Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina has been ousted from Congress in his Republican primary after voting to impeach Donald Trump
over the Jan. 6 insurrection. He is the first of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to lose a reelection bid.
Rice, a five-term congressman, was defeated Tuesday by state Rep. Russell Fry, who was endorsed by Trump.
Rice was a strong supporter of Trump’s policies in Washington but said he was left no choice but to impeach Trump over his failure to calm the mob that violently sought to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina also angered Trump, but she sought to make amends and won her GOP primary over her own Trump-backed challenger.
Trump had vowed revenge against the 10 House Republicans who crossed party lines to impeach him. Four of the 10 decided against seeking reelection. A fifth, Rep. David Valadao of California, is still waiting to hear the results of his primary election from last week.