MARIA: TWO NEW SUBVARIANTS OF COVID-19 NOW ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 7% OF ALL NEW INFECTIONS IN NEW ENAND.GL HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. TODD ELLERIN, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. GOOD TO SEE YOU. ED: THERE’S NO NEW GREEK LETRTE YET.THERE’S NO NEW GREEK LETRTE WHEN WE HAVE ONE WE WILL HAVE MARIA PRONOUNCE THEM FOR US. B.A.4 AND B.A.5 ARE BOTH OFFSHOOTS OF THE ORIGINAL MARIA: OMICRON ED: VARIANT. BUT HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER SUBVARIANTS THAT ARE ALREADY CIRCULATING? >> T I IS PROBABLY MORE SIMILAR THAN DIFFERENT, THEY ARE COUSINS, THEN SUBVARIANTS OF OMICRON, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ILWHE THEY MAY BE MORE CONTAGIOUS, AND THEY MAY BE ABLE TO EVADEMM IUNITY, NATURAL INFECTION OR VACCINE A LITTLE BETTER THAN THE PRIOR ONE, IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKET IS I NECESSARILY ANYMORE VERLANDER IN REAL LIFE. IN -- VIRULENT AND REAL-LIFE. IN THE LAB AND LOOKS LIKE IT COULD INFECT THE CELLS BETTER. THISS I A GOOD OPPORTITUNY TO REMIND EACH OTHER THAT IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO GET VACCINATED, YOU MAY BE SURPRISE IF YOUR ME SAY THAT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE BEEN INFECDTE BEFORE, MET WITH A HYBRID IMMUNITY WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH, THAT’S PROBABLY THE BEST. MARIA: THESE TWO SUBVARIANTS ALREADY TRIGGERED A COVID WAVE IN SOUTH AFRICA. WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DID IT HEAV ON HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND DEATHS? >> THE FORECASTING OF SOUTH AFRICA CAN REALLY TELL US AND PREDICT WHAT IS GOINTOG HAPPEN INHE T U.S., THE ANSWER IS WHILE THERE WAS LOA OFT CASES, STILL THE NUMBER OF CASES IN SOUTH AFRICA WERE NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE, IT IS PROBABLY UNDERESTIMATED LIKE AN UNITED STATES BECAUS OEF A LOT OF HOME TESTING, WHAT IS CLR EAIS THAT TREHE IS A LITTLE SPIKE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS REMAIN FT.LA I THINK THERE IS A GOOD SIGN, SOUTH AFRICAAS H NOT SEEN THE B. A.2 SPIKE WE HAVE SEEN. OVERALL I THNK THE CASES WILL RISE, BUT OVERALL THE SEVERITY WILL BE LOW, ESPECIALLY FOR THE VACCINATED. :ED AS YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE WHO TEST POSITIVE, THERE ARE MANY NEW TREATMENTS AVAILLEAB, INCLUDING THE ANTI-VIRAL PILL, PAXLOVID. YOU’VE SAID MANY TIMES, IT’S EFFECTIVE AND SAVES LIVES. BUT NOW WE’RE HEARING, THERE MAY BE AN UNPLEASANT SIDE EFFE.CT WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT? DO YOU STILL RECOMMEND IT TO YOUR PATIENTS? Y,ES THIS IS A MEDICATION THAT DOES NOT TASTE GOOD. MESO PEOPLE DESCRIBED AS METALLIC AND SOME DESCRIBED AS BITTER, SOMEAY S THEY WISH IT WAS JUST METALLIC OR BETTER, IT TASTE LIKE AAD B GRAPEFRUIT THEY RUB METAL ON. MARIA: HOW LONG DOES IT LAST? >> IT CAN START SOON AERFT YOU START TAKING THE MEDICATION, THE KEY IS A RESOLVES AND DOESOT N LAST LONGER AFTER YOU KETA IT. OVERALL THE STUDIES IT WAS BETWEEN 5%, 6% OF PATIENTS THAT TOOK IT, AND REAL-LIFE BIG MY GUESS IS IT IS HIGHER. 90% REDUCTION HOSPITALIZATION, THIS MEDICATION WORKS. >> I WAS CAN ASK FOR THE REMINDER, PERHAPS HE PUT UP FOR A BAD TASTE WITH THE BOTTOM LINE AND IT WORKS. >> IF I DID IT AGAIN I WILL TAKE PAXLOVID. >> GOOD TO TALK TO YOU. MAA:RI AND TO OUR VIEWERS IF YOU HAVE COVID RELATED QUESTIO
Biden administration lays out its plan for COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 5
Updated: 5:55 AM EDT Jun 9, 2022
Video above: Doctor breaks down difference between COVID-19 variantsThe White House is announcing a COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan Thursday for children under 5, partnering with state and local governments, health care providers, federal pharmacy partners, national and community-based organizations and other entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following next week's meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisers -- who will review data on these vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna -- and expected authorization from the full FDA."As the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) conduct their independent review processes, the Biden Administration is planning for all scenarios, including for the first vaccinations to start as early as the week of June 20th —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available," the White House wrote in a fact sheet shared with CNN on Wednesday.The administration, it said, "has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order. If the FDA authorizes a vaccine, the Administration will immediately begin shipping doses across the country — and will launch an effort to ensure that parents can get their youngest children vaccinated easily." FDA vaccine advisers are scheduled to meet next week to discuss authorizing emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age, and pending those decisions, the CDC will make final recommendations about the vaccines.The administration estimates that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within five miles of a potential vaccination site at this time, though they're anticipating most parents seeking a vaccination for young children will do so at their pediatrician's or primary care provider's office.Per a senior administration official, however, additional vaccine clinics and sites will be set up at easy-to-access locations for parents, including pharmacies, schools, children's hospitals, diaper banks, community health centers, clinics, museums, libraries and organizations serving minority communities across the country.Jurisdictions across the country have been able to pre-order COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under 5 since last week -- in that time, of the initial 5 million doses available for pre-order pending FDA authorization, the administration has received requests for 2.3 million vaccine doses, including 1.45 million doses of Pfizer and 850,000 doses of Moderna.Still, the official suggested they anticipate an uptick in orders from jurisdictions over time."Our experience has been that people are slow to order, and this has been true across each of the times we've opened up ordering, so I wouldn't focus on those early numbers," the official told reporters on a call Wednesday. "Our experience is that the longer the ordering stays open, the more likely the states come forward, so some of this is a matter of letting them know the ordering is available, and that they can begin that process."To spread awareness, the administration will partner with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which it estimates serves over 6 million people in the U.S., including almost half of all infants; with Head Start Programs through the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, which it estimates services approximately 1 million families; with Department of Housing and Urban Development programs, which it estimates serves more than 800,000 children under 5; and with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which serves millions of children under 5, among others.They'll also partner with community organizations, including "What to Expect," a platform serving mothers and expectant mothers, to author a series of blog posts to dispel vaccine misinformation.
Video above: Doctor breaks down difference between COVID-19 variants
The White House is announcing a COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan Thursday for children under 5, partnering with state and local governments, health care providers, federal pharmacy partners, national and community-based organizations and other entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following next week's meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisers -- who will review data on these vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna -- and expected authorization from the full FDA.
"As the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) conduct their independent review processes, the Biden Administration is planning for all scenarios, including for the first vaccinations to start as early as the week of June 20th —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available," the White House wrote in a fact sheet shared with CNN on Wednesday.
The administration, it said, "has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order. If the FDA authorizes a vaccine, the Administration will immediately begin shipping doses across the country — and will launch an effort to ensure that parents can get their youngest children vaccinated easily."
FDA vaccine advisers are scheduled to meet next week to discuss authorizing emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age, and pending those decisions, the CDC will make final recommendations about the vaccines.
The administration estimates that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within five miles of a potential vaccination site at this time, though they're anticipating most parents seeking a vaccination for young children will do so at their pediatrician's or primary care provider's office.
Per a senior administration official, however, additional vaccine clinics and sites will be set up at easy-to-access locations for parents, including pharmacies, schools, children's hospitals, diaper banks, community health centers, clinics, museums, libraries and organizations serving minority communities across the country.
Jurisdictions across the country have been able to pre-order COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under 5 since last week -- in that time, of the initial 5 million doses available for pre-order pending FDA authorization, the administration has received requests for 2.3 million vaccine doses, including 1.45 million doses of Pfizer and 850,000 doses of Moderna.
Still, the official suggested they anticipate an uptick in orders from jurisdictions over time.
"Our experience has been that people are slow to order, and this has been true across each of the times we've opened up ordering, so I wouldn't focus on those early numbers," the official told reporters on a call Wednesday. "Our experience is that the longer the ordering stays open, the more likely the states come forward, so some of this is a matter of letting them know the ordering is available, and that they can begin that process."
To spread awareness, the administration will partner with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which it estimates serves over 6 million people in the U.S., including almost half of all infants; with Head Start Programs through the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, which it estimates services approximately 1 million families; with Department of Housing and Urban Development programs, which it estimates serves more than 800,000 children under 5; and with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which serves millions of children under 5, among others.
They'll also partner with community organizations, including "What to Expect," a platform serving mothers and expectant mothers, to author a series of blog posts to dispel vaccine misinformation.
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