Coronavirus News Update – Sept. 20: Pfizer-BioNtech Vaccine Proven Safe in Children 5 to 11
A vaccination site in New York City
Pfizer and BioNTech said that their vaccine has been proven safe in children ages 5 to 11 and the two plan to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for authorization to use the vaccine for that age group. The vaccine, the two drug companies said, generated a “robust” response in clinical trials.
The need for a vaccine for school-age children is urgent as they currently account for one in five new infections in the United States.
As of Monday morning, the world has recorded 229.4 million Covid-19 cases and over 4.7 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 206 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus.
The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 148,202, a -8% change. The average daily death toll over the same period is 2,011, a change of 29% over the previous period.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has recorded over 42.9 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 691,992. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, over 33.48 million, and a death toll of 445,248, although experts believe that both numbers are in reality significantly higher.
Since vaccinations started at the end of last year over 5.94 billion doses have been administered across the globe as of Monday morning, an increase of 0.04 billion over the past 24 hours and the equivalent of over 77 doses for every 100 people, a one-half dose increase per hundred over the past 24 hours.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Monday, 211.8 million people in the United States – or 63.8% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 54.6%, or 181.3 million people, are now fully vaccinated, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 385.6 million. Breaking this down further, 76.5% of the population over the age of 18 – or 197.5 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 65.8% of the same group – or 169.9 million people – is fully vaccinated.
Finally, the U.S. Border Patrol said it has seized thousands of fake vaccination cards and Pfizer inoculation stickers at the Port of Cincinnati. The news came days after customs officials in Pittsburgh seized a lesser number, 70. Officials said that the fake cards featured “substandard printing” as well as misspelled words.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
