Florida is the only the state that hasn’t preordered COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers in anticipation of their final approval by the federal government, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he won’t facilitate their distribution, though he said they’ll be available to those who want them.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, who confirmed Florida’s outlier status on Thursday, said not preordering the vaccines could mean delaying their availability in children’s hospitals and other facilities that have relied on state distribution of the shots.
Florida officials said the jabs would be available at pharmacies and community health centers, which can preorder them directly from the federal government, and that children’s hospitals and other clinics would be able to order them from the federal government via a state portal and receive them quickly.
“Doctors can get it. Hospitals can get it. But there’s not going to be any state programs that are going to be trying to get COVID jabs to infants and toddlers and newborns,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “That’s not where we’re gonna be utilizing our resources.”
Final federal approval of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for ages 6 months through 5 years could come as early as next week. The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up Wednesday to vaccines from both pharmaceutical companies for children under 5, or roughly 18 million youngsters, arguing the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks.
Florida’s Health Department does not recommend COVID vaccines for healthy children under 17, but says children with underlying health conditions should be considered candidates for them. That advice contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which so far has recommended the vaccines for everyone 5 years and older, saying the shots provide strong protection against hospitalization and death.
In Florida, pharmacies and several supermarket chains, plus some community health centers, can preorder vaccines directly from the federal government. Other venues such as hospitals have previously benefited from the state’s preordering of shots. However, they also can order them directly from the federal government via a Florida government web portal and receive the doses within days or a week, said health department spokesman Jeremy Redfern.
Preordering the shots would mean the Florida health department would stockpile them, ship them to county-level health departments and then out to the hospitals, Redfern said. Hospitals that use the portal will be receiving the shots directly from the federal government, he said.
“The timing doesn’t necessarily change” in a significant way, Redfern said. “This just cuts out the middle man.”
Jean-Pierre, at a news conference in Washington, said parents would be able to access children’s vaccines through federal distribution channels at pharmacies and community health centers, “but those are limited options.”
“We encouraged Florida on several occasions to order vaccines,” Jean-Pierre said. By not doing so, the state “will not have immediate, ready access to some,” she said.
Total Doses Distributed = 758,129,055. Total Doses Administered = 592,269,252. Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses = 259,198,178. Number of People Fully Vaccinated = 221,924,152.
After five weeks of declining coronavirus deaths, the number of fatalities reported globally increased by 4% last week, according to the World Health Organization.
In its weekly assessment of the pandemic issued on Thursday, the U.N. health agency said there were 8,700 COVID-19 deaths last week, with a 21% jump in the Americas and a 17% increase in the Western Pacific.
WHO said coronavirus cases continued to fall, with about 3.2 million new cases reported last week, extending a decline in COVID-19 infections since the peak in January. Still, there were significant spikes of infection in some regions, with the Middle East and Southeast Asia reporting increases of 58% and 33% respectively.
“Because many countries have reduced surveillance and testing, we know this number is under-reported,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week. He said there was “no acceptable level of deaths from COVID-19,” given that the global community now has the vaccines, medicines and diagnostics to stop the virus.
While many rich countries in Europe and North America have mostly dropped their virus restrictions, China’s extreme COVID-19 policies have meant more mass testing, quarantines and sequestering of anyone who was in contact with a case.
China’s capital put school back online this week in one of its major districts amid a new COVID-19 outbreak linked to a nightclub. Residents in Beijing are still undergoing regular testing — mostly every other day — and must wear masks and swipe a mobile phone app to enter public places and facilitate case tracing.
China has maintained its “zero-COVID” policy despite considerable economic costs and an assertion from the head of the World Health Organization that the policy isn’t sustainable.
This week, U.S. officials moved a step closer to authorizing coronavirus vaccines for the youngest children, after the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for children under 5.
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.
Total Doses Distributed = 757,425,455. Total Doses Administered = 591,982,644. Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses = 259,148,285. Number of People Fully Vaccinated = 221,883,332.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 81-year-old 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 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.
Fauci is Biden’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He was a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force under former President Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for the virus. It was the second time Becerra had come down with symptoms and tested positive.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
U.S. government advisers met Wednesday to decide whether to endorse COVID-19 shots for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, moving the nation closer to vaccinations for all ages.
Kids under 5 are the last remaining age group in the U.S. to get vaccinated and many parents have been anxiously awaiting Food and Drug Administration action to protect their little children. If all the regulatory hurdles are cleared, shots should be available next week.
The independent advisory panel is considering tot-sized doses from two coronavirus vaccine makers — Pfizer and Moderna.
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.
“Each child that’s lost essentially fractures a family,’’ Marks 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.
“That is a really important point,”‘ said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. “You can’t compare the vaccines directly.’’
If the FDA clears 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. Roughly 18 million youngsters would be eligible.
Pfizer’s vaccine is for children 6 months through 4 years; Moderna’s is for 6 months through 5 years.
Moderna’s shots are one-quarter the dose of the company’s adult shots. Two doses appeared strong enough to prevent severe infections but only about 40% to 50% effective at preventing milder infections. Moderna has added a booster to its study.
“I think all of us agree these children will need a third dose at some point in time,” Moderna’s Dr. Jacqueline Miller told the panel.
Pfizer’s shots are just one-tenth its adult dose. Pfizer and partner BioNTech found that two shots didn’t provide enough protection in testing, so a third was added during the omicron wave.
Pfizer’s submitted data found no safety concerns and suggested that three shots were 80% effective in preventing symptomatic coronavirus infections. But that was based on just 10 COVID-19 cases; the calculation could change as more cases occur in the company’s ongoing studies.
The nation’s vaccination campaign started in December 2020 with the rollout of adult vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, with health care workers and nursing home residents first in line. Teens and school-age children were added last year.
Moderna said in April that it is also seeking regulatory approval outside the U.S. for its little kid shots. According to the World Health Organization, 12 other countries already vaccinate kids under 5, with other brands.
In the U.S., it remains uncertain how many parents want their youngest vaccinated. While COVID-19 is generally less dangerous for young children than older kids and adults, there have been serious cases and some deaths. Many parents trying to keep unvaccinated tots safe have put off family trips or enrolling children in daycare or preschool.
Still, by some estimates, three-quarters of all children have already been infected. Only about 29% of children aged 5 to 11 have been vaccinated since Pfizer’s shots opened to them last November, a rate far lower than public health authorities consider ideal.
Dr. Nimmi Rajagopal, a family medicine physician at Cook County Health in Chicago, said she’s been preparing parents for months.
“We have some that are hesitant, and some that are just raring to go,’’ she said.
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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
