Pfizer now hopes to tell U.S. regulators how well its COVID-19 vaccine works in the littlest kids by late May or early June.
Pfizer is testing three extra-small doses of its vaccine in children under 5 after two shots didn’t prove quite strong enough. Initial results had been expected last month but the company laid out the latest timeline Tuesday during its discussion of quarterly financial results.
Currently in the U.S., only children ages 5 or older can be vaccinated, using Pfizer’s vaccine — leaving 18 million younger tots unprotected.
Rival Moderna hopes to be the first to offer vaccinations for the youngest children. Last week, it filed with the Food and Drug Administration data it hopes will prove two of its low-dose shots work in children younger than 5. Moderna also has filed FDA applications for older kids, although the agency hasn’t ruled on them.
The FDA already has set tentative dates in June to publicly review data on COVID-19 vaccines for tots under 5, from either or both companies.
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Beijing is preparing new hospital facilities to deal with a spike in COVID-19 cases, even though the numbers of new cases remain low.
State media reported Tuesday a 1,000-bed hospital at Xiaotangshan in the northeastern suburbs built for the 2003 SARS outbreak has been refurbished in case it’s needed.
Unofficial reports online say thousands of beds have been prepared in a centralized quarantine center near the airport, but state media has not confirmed those preparations in what could be an attempt to avoid stoking public fears.
New cases in Beijing have remained steady, with another 62 recorded on Monday, 11 of them showing no symptoms, up just slightly from about 50 per day over the weekend. Beijing has reported about 450 cases in the two-week-old outbreak.
China has stuck to its strict “zero-COVID” approach that restricts travel, mass tests entire cities and sets up sprawling temporary facilities to try to isolate every infected person. Lockdowns start with buildings and neighborhoods but become citywide if the virus is spreading widely.
That has come as many other countries relax pandemic restrictions. Experts have questioned the usefulness of China’s hardline policy, saying vaccines and new treatments for COVID-19 make them redundant.
Beijing has ordered restaurants and gyms closed for the May Day national holiday that runs through Wednesday, while major tourist sites in the city, including the Forbidden City and the Beijing Zoo, will close their indoor exhibition halls starting Tuesday.
Another three rounds of testing have been ordered for most of the city’s 21 million people starting Tuesday, following a similar requirement last week. A negative test result obtained within the previous 48 hours is required to gain entry to most public spaces.
Authorities in Shanghai are slowly beginning to ease lockdown restrictions that have confined most of the city’s 26 million people to their apartments, housing compounds or immediate neighborhoods for close to a month.
Shanghai recorded another 5,669 cases on Monday, all but 274 of them asymptomatic, along with an additional 20 deaths.
Shanghai’s surprisingly low death toll amid an outbreak of more than 400,000 cases has sparked questions into how such deaths are tallied.
The severe lockdown conditions have led to massive disruptions from food shortages to a wider, though likely temporary impact on the national economy.
China’s largest city recorded a daily peak of 27,605 new cases nearly three weeks ago on April 13.
Total Doses Distributed = 728,357,115. Total Doses Administered = 576,402,886. Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses = 257,747,817. Number of People Fully Vaccinated = 219,778,035.
California’s population shrank for the second year in a row in 2021 as the nation’s most populous state was hit by declining birth rates, higher deaths from the pandemic and fewer people moving into the state from elsewhere in the U.S., officials said Monday.
California lost 117,552 people in 2021, putting its population to 39,185,605, the California Department of Finance said. That’s still the largest state population in the country ahead of second-place Texas.
But after years of steady population growth for California that put it close to having 40 million residents, the state’s population is back to where it was in 2016.
State officials blamed the loss on a declining birth rate for California coupled with an increase in deaths, mostly because of COVID-19.
Also, fewer people are moving to California from other states and state officials have said that federal immigration policies have drastically curtailed the number of people moving to the state from other countries.
Thirty-four of the state’s 58 counties lost people last year. They included Los Angeles County — the nation’s most populous, with 9.8 million residents — and San Diego and Orange counties. They are three of the most populous counties in the country.
Depending on your destination, it could result in an unexpected change in plans, such as being required to stay isolated in a hotel.
It’s why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you have backup plans ready if you’re traveling abroad. You might have to stay longer than planned if you test positive.
In some places, you won’t be able to board flights until you test negative. In others, you might also be required to stay in a quarantine facility.
Since results from a PCR test can remain positive for weeks after an infection, those who have had COVID-19 might have to get documentation from a doctor or health authorities saying they’ve recovered. Some travel only requires an antigen test.
If you end up needing medical treatment, check with your embassy for suggested health care providers. Keep in mind that some countries still have overwhelmed health care systems due to the pandemic.
Plan time for recovery since some countries — including the U.S. — require a negative test for reentry. Exceptions to this policy may be granted on an “extremely limited” basis, such as in the event of an emergency medical evacuation or humanitarian crisis, says the CDC.
It also helps to be financially prepared to pay unexpected bills. While it varies country to country, travelers are often responsible for costs associated with any isolation or medical treatments needed.
Travel companies suggest getting insurance that will cover the cost of treatment, isolation or rescheduled travel plans. Some countries require that you have insurance before you’re allowed to enter.
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The COVID-19 outbreak that has shut down most of Shanghai appears to be waning, with the number of new cases falling below 10,000 a day over the weekend.
Authorities have begun a limited easing of a citywide lockdown that has disrupted the lives of millions of residents and dealt at least a temporary blow to China’s economy. Many have been confined to their apartments for three weeks or more. They reported difficulty ordering food deliveries in the early days of the lockdown and higher prices for what they could get.
China’s largest city recorded about 7,000 cases a day on Saturday and Sunday, down from a peak of 27,605 nearly three weeks ago on April 13. Shanghai reported 32 deaths, raising the death toll to 454. Most of the victims have been elderly and many were unvaccinated.
Even as many other countries relax pandemic restrictions, the Chinese government has stuck to a “zero-COVID” approach that restricts travel, mass tests entire cities and sets up sprawling temporary facilities to try to isolate every infected person. Lockdowns start with buildings and neighborhoods but become citywide if the virus is spreading widely.
Many outside experts say it’s time for China to change course. Lockdowns helped buy critical time at the start of the pandemic but zero-COVID no longer makes sense from a public health perspective and imposes socioeconomic costs, said Richard Reithinger, the vice president for global health at RTI International in Washington, D.C.
“Continuing to enforce a zero-COVID-19 policy now, including a lockdown approach and restricting travel, is almost like pretending we have learned nothing over the past two years, now that effective treatment options and various vaccines are available,” he said.
But Chinese officials worry that a major outbreak could overwhelm the health care system and lead to more deaths, particularly among the unvaccinated elderly.
Authorities in Beijing have closed schools, carried out mass testing of more than 20 million people and imposed targeted lockdowns of buildings and neighborhoods to try to prevent what is still a small outbreak from reaching Shanghai proportions and necessitating a citywide lockdown.
The Chinese capital reported 50 new cases, bringing the total to 400 in the 11-day-old outbreak. Restaurants and gyms have been ordered shut for the May Day national holiday that runs through Wednesday. Major tourist sites in the city, including the Forbidden City and the Beijing Zoo, will close their indoor exhibition halls starting Tuesday.
Shanghai has recorded about 400,000 cases in China’s largest outbreak since the start of the pandemic.
Reithinger said a zero-COVID policy is a blanket strategy rather than one driven by epidemiological data. Rather than citywide lockdowns, China should focus on areas where there are clusters of cases, enforce social distancing and other prevention measures and redouble its vaccination efforts, particularly among the elderly, he said.
