The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its immunization schedules for children and adults on Thursday, and the COVID-19 shot is now listed among the recommended shots.

The addition of COVID-19 shots to the immunization schedule was one of several changes made by the CDC. The agency also updated its guidance on other shots, including Hepatitis B; influenza; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); and poliovirus.

The new guidance calls on an additional dose of the MMR vaccine during mumps outbreaks.

There is also new guidance that recommends a lifetime booster of the poliovirus vaccine for fully vaccinated adults who face an increased risk of being exposed to the virus.

The recommendation calls for children as young as 6 months to begin their primary COVID vaccination series. Children 6 months through 4 years old without compromised immune systems can either get a two-shot Moderna vaccine series or a three-shot Pfizer-BioNTech series. The recommendation for older children and adults is two shots of either vaccine.

The updated vaccine schedule was approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in October 2022. The new vaccine schedule then garnered recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the American Academy of Physician Associates and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.

“ACIP’s recommendations for the use of each vaccine are developed after in-depth reviews of vaccine-related data, including the epidemiology and societal impacts of the vaccine-preventable disease, vaccine efficacy and effectiveness, vaccine safety, quality of evidence, feasibility of program implementation, and economic analyses of immunization policy,” the CDC said.

The CDC said it only makes recommendations for use of vaccines, while school-entry vaccination requirements are determined by state or local jurisdictions.

According to CDC data, less than 10% of children ages 2-4 have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. About 1 in 3 children ages 5-11 are considered fully vaccinated, the CDC said.

The fully updated vaccination schedule is available on the CDC’s website.

WASHINGTON — About 900,000 kids aged 5-11 will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said Wednesday.

Final clearance for the shots was granted by federal regulators on Nov. 2, with the first doses to kids beginning in some locations the following day.

Shortly after the vaccines' approval, White House COVID-19 response team coordinator Jeff Zients said it would take until the week of Nov. 8 for the vaccine distribution program to reach full capacity.

On Wednesday, Zients confirmed that nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and physicians' offices are administering the doses. By the end of Wednesday, the White House estimates that more than 900,000 of the kid doses will have been administered.

Zients added that "through pharmacies alone, 700,000 additional appointments are already on the calendar at local pharmacies."

Kids who begin the two-dose regimen by the end of next week will have full protection from the vaccines by Christmas.

The White House says that the U.S. still has enough doses on hand to vaccinate all 28 million children in the country aged between 5 and 11.

WASHINGTON — The FDA on Friday issued emergency approval for a smaller dose version of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 5 to 11.

The agency's decision comes just days after the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 17-0 (with one doctor abstaining) to recommend the shots.

"The tremendous cost of this pandemic has not just been in physical illness, it's been in the psychological the social development of children," said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is scheduled to consider the shots early next week. The agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices must first give its own recommendation before agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky gives final approval.

Officials estimate that the vaccines could be available to children as early as the first or second week in November.

Last week, the White House said that if and when Pfizer's vaccine receives full emergency use authorization, it would begin shipping 15 million vaccine doses to clinics around the country for immediate distribution.

Biden Administration officials say the country currently has enough doses on hand to vaccinate every child aged between 5 and 11 that lives in the U.S. The White House says that it will primarily lean on primary care doctors and pharmacies to distribute the vaccines but noted that it is also working with some school boards to offer doses in schools.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has been fully approved by the FDA for everyone aged 16 and up. The shots are also available for adolescents between the age of 12 and 15 on an emergency use basis.

Marks said the FDA is "probably a few months" away from reviewing data for COVID-19 vaccines for younger children.

WASHINGTON — Last March, as false claims about vaccine safety threatened to undermine the world’s response to COVID-19, researchers at Facebook found they could reduce vaccine misinformation by tweaking how vaccine posts show up on users’ newsfeeds.

“Given these results, I’m assuming we’re hoping to launch ASAP,” one Facebook employee wrote, responding to the internal memo about the study, according to The Associated Press.

Yet despite evidence that it worked, Facebook took a full month to implement the changes at a pivotal time in the global vaccine rollout.

The AP also reports that the company completely shelved some suggestions from the study.

Facebook’s own documents revealed how comments on posts are a hotbed for anti-vaccine messages. But when another researcher suggested disabling comments on vaccine posts, that idea was ignored.

“Why would you not remove comments? Because engagement is the only thing that matters,” said Imran Ahmed, the CEO of internet watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate, according to the AP. “It drives attention, and attention equals eyeballs, and eyeballs equal ad revenue.”

Those revelations were contained in disclosures made to the Securities and Exchange Commission by former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen.

In response to the AP's report, Facebook said it has made “considerable progress” with downgrading vaccine misinformation in users’ feeds.

President Joe Biden on Thursday addressed the nation, touting his administration's efforts to have employers and industries require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Biden delivered his remarks from Elk Grove Village, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

"We know there is no other way to beat the pandemic than to get the vast majority of Americans vaccinated," Biden said.

In September, Biden laid out a six-pronged plan to combat COVID-19 this fall.

Part of that plan included a new rule from the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated. That provision also requires workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work.

"In total, this Labor Department vaccination requirement will cover 100 million Americans," Biden said.

Biden has also signed executive orders requiring all federal workers to be vaccinated and all contractors working with the federal government to be vaccinated.

Since his directive was implemented within the military, Biden said vaccinations rates among active-duty members went from 67% to 97%.

Biden asserted that this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated, which is having an effect on the economy.

"Increased vaccination results in as many as 5 million American workers going back to work because they feel safe they can go back to work," Biden stated.

Biden appeared hopeful that cases will continue to come down if more people get vaccinated. He said cases have dropped by 40% over the last month. He added that rates of hospitalizations and deaths have also fallen.

"We're headed in the right direction if we keep our eye on the ball," he said.

Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that new data from early trials of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine provides a "rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies" that fight off the virus.

In a press release, the company noted that the antibody response provided by the single-shot vaccine was "strong and stable" eight months later. However, eyes are turning to booster shots as widespread vaccine use nears the one-year mark.

In its press release, Johnson & Johnson noted that a person who gets a booster shot saw a nine-fold increase in antibodies when compared to antibody response 28 days after an initial dose.

"With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine," said Dr. Mathai Mammen, the global head of Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson. "We look forward to discussing with public health officials a potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting eight months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination."

Earlier this month, top federal health officials recommended that Americans seek out a COVID-19 booster shot eight months after full vaccination. The booster shot program is slated to begin Sept. 20, pending approval from the Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In issuing a recommendation for booster shots, officials said that while all COVID-19 vaccines remain extremely effective in preventing instances of severe infection or death from the virus, there has been some data to show that those vaccinated are more susceptible to mild cases of the virus eight months after vaccination. They've also seen evidence that those vaccinated are more susceptible to unknowingly spreading the virus as time goes on.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was granted emergency use authorization in late February, meaning booster shots for those who received the J&J vaccine would be available in late October if the FDA and the CDC ultimately approve them.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine still only has emergency use approval from the FDA. Earlier this week, the agency granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine — the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive such a designation.

On a recent Tuesday morning, 9-year-old Braxten Mannin walked into the nurse's office at the Ohio School for the Deaf in Columbus. This energetic elementary school student wasn't sick, though; instead, he was here for a COVID-19 test.

Testing for COVID-19 might seem like a topic from 2020, but at Braxten's school, they have just launched a pilot testing program that will help ensure the safety of students, teachers and staff at this residential facility. Each year, they serve about 300 students from across the state.

The Ohio School for the Deaf and Ohio School for the Blind are the only public schools in the state serving kids who are deaf, hard of hearing or vision impaired. Because of underlying medical conditions or simply because they're not old enough to get the vaccine, many kids here are still at risk for contracting COVID-19.

They are now part of a nationwide pilot program working to test kids like Braxten for the virus.

"One of the fastest ways to ensure schools stay open is to make sure they stay safe. We have quick surveillance," explained school nurse Tobbi Reeves-Valentine, as she handed Braxten a small testing swab for his nose.

The beauty of this program is that it enables Reeve-Valentine to do all the testing right in school and the results usually come back within 24 hours.

"Moving forward, I think this will just be another tool we use. It's like how we do our vision screen. It's another tool for parents and families to feel safe," she added.

About 4 million kids under the age of 12 have tested positive for COVID. They represent nearly 14 percent of all new cases.

Currently, Pfizer and Moderna are conducting vaccine trials for kids between the ages of 6 months and 11 years old, which makes testing kids under the age of 12 still critically important to controlling the pandemic.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, a company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, is helping to facilitate the program known as "Ready, Check, Go."

"Even though we want to be done with the pandemic the reality is the virus is not done with us," said Mark Stevenson, the company's executive vice president.

Testing in residential environments like this one is still critically important, especially when students are too young to be vaccinated. "Ready, Check, Go" is funded in part by federal money allocated from some of the COVID-19 relief bills passed by Congress.

"We need to be able to track and isolate cases, so we aren’t shutting down schools," Stevenson said.

For several months, it's been clear that a person's political views will heavily influence their decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Polling has shown that those who identify as Democrats are much more likely to seek out a vaccine compared to those who identify as Republicans.

However, a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that the political divide in vaccination rates is growing.

Back in April, the organization found that counties that went for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election were slightly outpacing counties that went for Donald Trump when it came to vaccinations. At the time, blue counties had vaccinated about 23% of people, while red counties had vaccinated 21% of people.

However, by July 6, that gap had grown significantly. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that countries that went for Biden have now vaccinated 47% of their population, while countries that went for Trump have only vaccinated 35% of their population.

The increase of the partisan vaccine gap from 2% to nearly 12% means that the U.S. is hurtling toward a reality where swaths of the country will remain at risk for COVID-19, especially as the dangerous delta variant continues to spread.

Kaiser Family Foundation

In an interview with CNN last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that if such disparities continue to grow, under-vaccinated areas could see surges in cases that could overwhelm health resources.

"You're going to have areas where the vaccination rate is high, where there's more than 70% of the population, as we see, with at least one dose. When you compare that to areas where you have, say, 35% of the people vaccinated, you clearly have a high risk of seeing spikes in these selective areas," Fauci said in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon.

"The thing that's so frustrating about this, Don, is that this is entirely avoidable, entirely preventable," he added. "If you are vaccinated, you diminish dramatically your risk of getting infected, and even more dramatically your risk of getting seriously ill. If you are not vaccinated, you are at considerable risk."

According to a June poll conducted by CBS News and YouGov, 29% of Republicans surveyed said they did not intend to get vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 5% of Democrats and 21% of independents.

Though the CDC has said that COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be safe and highly effective, the top reasons for not getting vaccinated, according to the CBS News/YouGov poll, include:

• Concerns that the vaccine had not been tested enough
• Side effects
• Distrust of the government
• Distrust of scientists and drug companies

In January, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the virus was the leading cause of death among Americans.

With more than 3,000 deaths per day, COVID-19 ranked higher than even heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death in the country.

However, just half a year later, COVID-19 has plummeted as a leading cause of death. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that the virus was just the seventh-leading cause of death in June.

In June, more people were killed by heart attacks, cancer, accidents, stroke, chronic respiratory disease and Alzheimer's than COVID-19.

COVID-19 killed an average of 342 Americans a day in June, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. By comparison, heart disease killed 2,101 people a day and cancer killed 1,614 a day.

The rolling average of daily COVID-19 deaths has consistently fallen since late January as vaccines became widely available. As of Friday, the CDC says seven-day average of daily deaths was at 287, the lowest that number has been since March 2020.

The drop in deaths mirrors the rise in the country's vaccination rate. As of Tuesday morning, the CDC reports that 67% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death among Americans, ranking only behind heart disease and cancer.

When vaccines were harder to come by and people sat on waiting lists, Magic Adrian came to the rescue for hundreds of people in Clermont County and beyond.

Though it sounds like one, it's not a folk tale: Adrian Anderson's personal cell phone number was posted in churches, shared among friends and family, displayed in offices and on Facebook.

"I just saved her contact as 'Magic Adrian,' so when I shared the contact with people, that's what it showed up as, and I think it just kind of accidentally and organically took on a life of its own," said Alex Horan-Jacobs, who, like many at the time, was eager to get a COVID-19 vaccine but couldn't get an appointment.

Magic Adrian was his secret weapon; he and anywhere from 200 to 300 people also used her number.

Anderson is a practice manager at Mercy Health in Clermont and Anderson. During the release of the first doses of vaccine, she took it upon herself to help schedule any and everyone who needed a shot.

"I would call one, and then I would ask the question -- which I probably shouldn't -- is there anyone else you'd like me to schedule?" said Anderson.

More often than not, the answer was yes.

"As soon as the governor would increase the guidelines so that more people could get it, I would receive more calls and I would schedule them for the day that they were eligible," she said.

Others in her office took notice of the extra work Magic Adrian was doing to help their clinic -- from staying late to answering hundreds of calls on her personal cell to scheduling on her laptop on the weekends from home.

"The truth is, anytime anything needs to get done, Adrian makes it happen," said Dr. Brent Kinder, with Mercy Health. "In this case, she realized how important it was, so she literally sacrificed her life for several months to save lives."

Anderson has received thank-you notes, cards and emails from families thrilled she could connect them with a shot that they so desperately needed.

"My friends would tell me, 'I called that number, and I'm going in two days,'" said Horan-Jacobs. "It's like, wow, especially after a year and so of sweating it out. Magical is just kind of apt, I think."

Anderson said the driving force for her was focusing on saving lives.

"People were dying daily and that's just not something, if it can be prevented, then why not," said Anderson.

Mercy Health is still offering vaccination clinics; anyone interested can call 866-624-0366 or visit their online scheduling tool.

CHARLESTON, W.V. — The state of West Virginia is taking a different approach to encouraging its residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Gov. Jim Justice announced this week that the state’s vaccine incentives will include five custom hunting rifles and five shotguns, two custom-outfitted trucks, five lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, and 25 weekend vacations at state parks.

Like other states, West Virginia is also giving away cash prizes. A $1.588 million grand prize and a $588,000 second prize will be given out, as will two full scholarships to any higher education institution in the state.

The state’s vaccine incentive lottery will begin on June 20 and run through Aug. 4, according to the governor’s office. West Virginians who have been fully vaccinated will need to register to be entered to win the prizes.

These new incentives come after the governor announced that he would make his dog, Babydog, the mascot of the state’s vaccine lottery.

"If you won't do it for your family, you've got to get vaccinated for Babydog. That's all there is to it,” said Justice during a press conference.

ICYMI: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has made his dog "babydog" the mascot of the state's new vaccine lottery.

"She wants you vaccinated SO badly" pic.twitter.com/rTdtO7amb1

— Haleigh Hoffman (@HaleighHoffman) May 28, 2021

States across the country are using these kinds of prizes to incentivize getting vaccinated. The goal is to get as many people as possible vaccinated, so Americans are protected from the disease and the virus can’t spread as easily.

President Joe Biden has set a goal of having 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated with at least one dose by July 4. As of Thursday, 63% of adults in the country had gotten at least one shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).