COVID treatment pill: President Biden doubles order to Pfizer
The president said the government has doubled its order of Pfizer’s COVID treatment pill from 10 million to 20 million.
STAFF VIDEO, USA TODAY
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed its recommendations for vaccinated Americans, urging staying “up to date” on one’s COVID-19 shots means getting a booster shot.
“CDC surveillance data and other studies from around the world have demonstrated the benefit of a booster dose after receiving only a primary series, including decreased risk of infection, severe disease and death,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House news briefing on Wednesday.
The CDC recommends people who received a primary shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster of either the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccine at least two months after receiving their J&J shot.
More than 71 million Americans have received a booster dose, according to CDC data.
However, health officials also said Wednesday that they are not changing the qualifications for being “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19.
The decision to keep the initial definition, established more than a year ago when the vaccines first rolled out, means that federal vaccination mandates for travel or employment won’t require a booster dose.
Maintaining the existing definition of “fully vaccinated” could make it more difficult to encourage some Americans who only begrudgingly got their primary doses of the vaccine to get boosted, since they would not face onerous restrictions often imposed on the unvaccinated — including testing requirements or, in some jurisdictions, being barred from indoor dining and other facilities.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top science adviser on the COVID-19 response, said earlier this week that the administration was shifting how it talked about vaccinations and getting booster doses.
“We’re using the terminology now ‘keeping your vaccinations up to date,’ rather than what ‘fully vaccinated’ means,” he said during a National Institutes of Health lecture.
Also in the news:
► Unvaccinated NBA star point guard Kyrie Irving made his season debut Wednesday night, scoring 22 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 129-121 victory against the Indiana Pacers. Irving can only play in road games because a New York City mandate requires proof of vaccination to enter arenas.
► No. 1 ranked men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entrance to Australia ahead of the Australian Open after failing to meet requirements for an exemption to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 57 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 832,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 297 million cases and 5.4 million deaths. More than 206 million Americans – 62% – are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
What we’re reading: As common as cloth face masks have become, health experts say that they do little to prevent tiny virus particles from getting into your nose or mouth and aren’t effective against the new coronavirus variant. USA TODAY’s Gabriela Miranda explains.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Chicago public schools closed for a second straight day Thursday as a deadlock between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the school district over COVID-19 safety dragged on. The CTU’s 25,000 members voted late Tuesday to shift to remote learning until Jan. 18, or when cases fall. In response, Chicago Public Schools announced it would cancel classes Wednesday for the district’s 330,000 students – with no remote instruction. On Wednesday evening, it announced that classes would again be canceled Thursday because there aren’t enough teachers to staff classrooms.
Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said students may be able to start returning to schools on Friday for services such as tutoring or counseling if enough staff members show up. Buildings stayed open Wednesday for meal pickup in the largely low-income and Black and Latino school district.
– Christine Fernando and Alia Wong
The 16 million people who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine find themselves in a gray zone. While health officials encourage those who’ve gotten the double-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna series to get a third shot, J&J recipients are limited to their original one and a single booster. About 3.5 million of them have gotten boosted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But they can’t go beyond that.
“I suspect there are thousands of J&J recipients in my situation who are questioning our protection,” said Donna Alston, 61, of Philadelphia. “I went to my pharmacy last week to see if I could sign up and they said no.” Read more here.
– Elizabeth Weise
Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky cleared the way Wednesday for extra booster doses to be given right away to people ages 12 to 15.
A CDC advisory panel earlier in the day had voted 13-1 in favor of recommending that 12- to 15-year-olds get a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and Walensky quickly endorsed the suggestion. The extra shot may be given at least five months after conclusion of the original two-dose regimen.
The committee also strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds also should get a booster. Previous guidance said that age group “may” get a shot.
“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease,” Walensky said. “This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the omicron variant.”
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the booster earlier this week, basing its decision largely on data from Israel that found no new safety concerns when 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose.
The booster is considered a crucial weapon against the pandemic as students return to classrooms following winter break amid a historic, omicron-driven surge in cases.
Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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