• Becker’s Hospital Review, 11/12/21, All Adults in Colorado, California Eligible for COVID-19 Boosters. California and Colorado both expanded COVID-19 booster eligibility to all fully vaccinated adults Nov. 10. As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge across Colorado, health officials said all adults across the state are now eligible for booster doses of the vaccine, according to The Denver Post. READ MORE
   

• Becker’s Hospital Review, 11/9/21, Health officials say too few boosters behind rising COVID hospitalizations in parts of California. COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising in some regions of California, with areas where there are lower vaccination rates recording hospitalization spikes, and COVID-19 admissions ticking up even in places with relatively high vaccination rates, The Los Angeles Times reported Nov. 9. Some officials are pointing to a low uptake of booster shots, with statewide demand lower than anticipated. Health officials are warning that seniors who got their shots last winter and haven't received a booster may see immunity start to wane, increasing exposure risk, especially as outdoor temperatures drop and the holidays approach. READ MORE
   

• OC Health Care Agency Press Release, 10/25/21, The OC Health Care Agency (HCA) has begun offering booster shots of the Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines for certain populations, following recommendations from the Western States Scientific and Safety Review Workgroup, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  READ MORE
   

• OC Health Care Agency Press Release, 10/22/21, To prepare for the next phase of vaccination distribution, the OC Health Care Agency continues to monitor activity by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regarding the administration of booster shots of the Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson, or J&J) COVID-19 vaccines.  READ MORE
   

• Becker’s Hospital Review, 10/20/21, US lays out COVID-19 vaccination plan for kids 5-11: 9 things to know. The White House on Oct. 20 detailed its plan for vaccinating children ages 5-11 against COVID-19, so that the vaccines can be quickly distributed and made equitably available upon FDA authorization and a CDC recommendation. READ MORE
   

• CDC Newsroom, 10/7/21, The Hidden U.S. COVID-19 Pandemic: Orphaned Children - More than 140,000 U.S. Children Lost a Primary or Secondary Caregiver Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. New study highlights stark disparities in caregiver deaths by race and ethnicity, calls for urgent public health response. One U.S. child loses a parent or caregiver for every four COVID-19-associated deaths, a new modeling studyexternal icon published today in Pediatrics reveals. READ MORE
   

• Becker’s Hospital Review, 10/7/21, Pfizer seeks FDA approval for vaccine’s use in kids 5-11: 5 things to know. Pfizer said Oct. 7 it submitted its request for the FDA to extend its COVID-19 vaccine's emergency use authorization to include children between ages 5 and 11. The FDA has tentatively scheduled a meeting on Oct. 26 to review Pfizer's request. The agency's decision is expected between Oct. 31 and Nov. 25, according to The New York Times. READ MORE
   

• Health and Human Services Press Release, 10/5/21, New HHS Report: Vaccination Linked to a Redution of Ove a Quarter Million COVID-19 Cases, 100,000 Hospitalizations, and 39,000 Deaths Among Seniors. The study, which was conducted by researchers with HHS's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), found that vaccinations were linked to a reduction of approximately 265,000 COVID-19 infections, 107,000 hospitalizations, and 39,000 deaths among Medicare beneficiaries between January and May 2021. READ MORE
   

• Becker’s Hospital Review, 10/1/21, California's vaccination mandate: Early results. While some healthcare workers remained unvaccinated as California's COVID-19 vaccination mandate took effect Sept. 30, health systems reported that many have complied, according to The New York Times. California issued an order Aug. 5 requiring workers in healthcare to be vaccinated. It applies to those who work in indoor healthcare settings, including hospitals, where care is provided to patients, or patients have access. Workers who do not qualify for a medical or religious exemption needed to receive their first dose of a one-dose regimen or their second dose of a two-dose regimen by Sept. 30. READ MORE
   

• Becker’s Hospital Review, 10/1/21, COVID-19 antiviral pill cut hospitalizations in half, Merck says. Merck's COVID-19 antiviral drug molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by about 50 percent in a phase 3 trial, the drugmaker said Oct. 1. Molnupiravir, developed in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was tested in nonhospitalized adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were at risk for developing severe disease. READ MORE

News and Information Archive

• Herd Immunity is Only Possible with a Vaccine by Bernadette Boden-Ablala, MPH, DrPH; Dan M. Cooper MD; Clayton Chau, MD, PhD; Casey Dorman, PhD
  • There has been much debate around the concept of herd immunity since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a public health term, the idea of herd immunity is that if enough people are protected against an infection because they have been exposed and developed antibodies, transmission of the infection slows and ultimately new outbreaks are halted because much of the population is no longer susceptible. Some people suggest that COVID-19 can best be controlled by allowing the virus to run its course and achieve enough numbers of infected persons to reach herd immunity. We suggest that there is some confusion about the use of this term and that there are strong reasons for not pursuing that approach. READ MORE

• Trust the Truth: Not the Myths by Casey Dorman, PhD (Updated 4/27/21)
  • Vaccines are not being given to children and adolescents because they have not yet been tested with that age, not because they have been found to be dangerous to children and adolescents. READ MORE