The US is one step closer to the anticipated authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine for young kids ages five to 11 years. An independent panel of advisers has recommended the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorize the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children who fall in this age group, bringing the US closer than ever to a vaccine option that covers the majority of the population.
EveryPlate and Hello Fresh, two meal delivery services, have recalled the onions found in their meal kits sold during a specific time period due to potential contamination with Salmonella. The two recalls follow last week's big onion recall announcement, which was made in conjunction with an ongoing investigation into a multi-state Salmonella outbreak across the US.
Walmart is recalling thousands of bottles of a Better Homes & Gardens aromatherapy spray over potential contamination with a deadly bacteria called Burkholderia pseudomallei. The recall follows four illnesses in the US earlier this year that resulted in two deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, which found the bacteria in a bottle of the aromatherapy spray sourced from one of the patients' homes.
Though many reports related to the COVID-19 pandemic focus on the death toll, there is a wider impact on society that ranges from those left with long-term disabilities caused by the disease to those who have had their lives thrown into chaos as the result of a death. The CDC is emphasizing this in a new study that estimates how many kids in the US have been left orphaned as a result of the pandemic.
The CDC has issued a health advisory regarding pregnant people and COVID-19 vaccinations. The new advisory "recommends urgent action" to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among not only those who are currently pregnant, but those who were recently pregnant, including those who are lactating, those who are trying to become pregnant, or those who could become pregnant in the near future. According to the CDC, vaccination among pregnant people is low.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still investigating a salmonella outbreak that has spread to 29 states across the US, it revealed in its latest update on the matter. The agency is working with local and state officials to hunt down the source of the outbreak, which has potentially been narrowed down to a set of different herbs and vegetables.
The FDA's vaccine advisory committee has voted against a generally available third Pfizer COVID-19 booster, though left alternative routes open for other high-risk individuals. The panel, comprised of independent public health and scientific experts, pushed back at suggestions that sufficient data of vaccine safety had been gathered.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention is advising the public to get their annual flu shot as summer reaches its end and the influenza season nears. Unlike past years, this winter is expected to bring a large number of COVID-19 cases and, if people don't get vaccinated, flu cases at the same time, increasing concerns about whether hospitals will be able to keep up.
The US Food and Drug Administration will begin deliberations today on whether to approve COVID-19 booster shots, following the Biden Administration's commitment to add an extra injection to those wanting to fully immunized against coronavirus. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will see representatives from Pfizer, among others, pitch the value of a third vaccine shot amid fast-spreading variants like Delta.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated a report on individuals ages 16 and older who have contracted COVID-19, revealing the latest figures on how many vaccinated vs unvaccinated people end up sick and hospitalized. As expected, unvaccinated individuals are far more likely to end up hospitalized with the respiratory disease.
The FDA has fully approved Comirnaty, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, in a move that's likely to put greater attention on the wisdom of being immunized and whether employers can legally require it of their employees. While Comirnaty may be approved now, though, that doesn't mean it's the end of the emergency use authorization, or indeed of monitoring those vaccinated for any long-term side effects.
A third booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine could be recommended for all Americans, with claims that the White House is readying new guidance to deal with coronavirus variants. Currently almost 169 million people in America have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, or just over half of the total population. However experts are concerned that newer COVID-19 strains could leave the current recommendations for vaccination insufficient.