Coronavirus News Update – May 4: FDA to Authorize Covid Vaccine for 12-to-15-Year-Olds

Oktoberfest Cancelled for Second Year in a Row

By Anna Breuer on 4 May 2021
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Oktoberfest at the Theresienwiese in Munich

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will authorize the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in adolescents ages 12 to 15 by early next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The move will open up the vaccination campaign to a large and now vulnerable population.

As of Tuesday morning, the world has recorded over 155.5 million Covid-19 cases and has seen over 3.23 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, over 131.98 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus.

Since the start of vaccinations at the end of last year, the world has administered more than 1.18 billion doses as of Tuesday morning, the equivalent of 15 doses for every 100 people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that as of Monday, 147.5 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Monday.  Approximately 56.3% of the population over the age of 18 – some 145.3 million people – has received at least a first inoculation, including 104.8 million people, or 40.6% of the same population, who have received both doses. Overall, 31.8% of the population, or 105.5 million people, has been fully vaccinated against the virus.

The news from India continues to be grim.  The country crossed the 20 million mark in Covid-19 cases Tuesday as a second wave of infections continues to ravage the world’s second-most populous country.

In Munich, officials announced that this year’s Oktoberfest would be cancelled, the second year in a row that the festival won’t be held due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Ministerpräsident Markus Söder said that the decision had been made with a “heavy heart.”  The event had been scheduled to run from September 18 through October 3.

In Washington, D.C. the Biden administration plans to redistribute vaccine supplies to states under a “use it or lose it” policy.  Vaccine supply that states leave unordered will be made available to other states.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order to end all local emergency orders relating to the coronavirus pandemic.  The move effectively would halt enforcement of any restrictions across the state, the Miami Herald reported.

In Canada, officials in Ontario opened vaccine appointments to anyone aged 18 or older in communities that are considered Covid-19 hotspots.  The action is part of the province’s mass immunization campaign.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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