imageCredit…Emily Elconin for the New York Times
Coronavirus cases in children in the United States have risen 32 percent in about two weeks, an increase that occurs as the country rushes to vaccinate children before the winter vacation season, pediatricians said.
More than 140,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus between November 11 and November 18, up from 107,000 in the week ended November 4, according to a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association on Monday.
Those cases accounted for about a quarter of the country’s case load for the week, the statement said. Children under 18 make up approximately 22 percent of the US population.
“Is there any cause for concern? Absolutely, “said Dr. Sean O’Leary, vice chairman of the Academy’s Infectious Disease Committee, in an interview Monday night. “What is driving the rise in the number of children is that the total number of cases is increasing.”
Children made up a greater percentage of the total cases since adult vaccines became generally available, said Dr. O’Leary, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Although children are less likely to get Covid than adults, they are still at risk and can transmit the virus to adults. Experts have warned that children should be vaccinated to protect themselves from possible long-term Covid symptoms, multi-system inflammation syndrome and hospitalization.
At the end of October, around 8,300 American children aged 5 to 11 were hospitalized with Covid and at least 172 of more than 3.2 million hospitalizations and 740,000 total deaths died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At a press conference on Friday, Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration, said hospitalizations and deaths among 5 to 11 year olds were “really terrifying”.
Dr. O’Leary said it didn’t help that many schools had toned their safety protocols in the past few months.
“So there is no protection that can take place in schools,” he said.
Vaccinations for younger children will likely help keep schools open. Virus outbreaks forced about 2,300 schools to close between early August and October, affecting more than 1.2 million students, according to data presented at a CDC meeting on November 2nd
Dr. O’Leary said he was particularly concerned about the increase in cases in children during the holiday season.
With the pace of vaccination among adults stagnating in the United States, states are rushing to promote vaccination for children between the ages of 5 and 11, which was eligible earlier this month after the CDC approved Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for that age group. In May, the federal government recommended that the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine be made available to children ages 12-15. Teenagers 16 and older were eligible a month earlier in most states.
The White House estimated on November 10 that nearly a million young children had been vaccinated; 28 million are eligible. You will be given a third of the adult dose with two injections three weeks apart.
All the data so far suggests that the vaccines are far safer than a Covid attack, even for children.
However, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, about three in ten parents say they definitely won’t get the vaccine for their 5-11 year old child. Only about three in ten parents said that they vaccinated their child “immediately”.
Credit…Stefani Reynolds for the New York Times
Even in normal times, the days around Thanksgiving are a tricky time for the airlines. But this week marks the industry’s biggest test since the pandemic began, as millions more Americans – encouraged by vaccinations and reluctant to go on vacation alone – are expected to take to the skies than last year’s vacation.
The Transportation Security Administration said it expected to screen approximately 20 million passengers at airports in the 10 days that began Friday, a number nearing prepandemic levels. Two million checkpoints passed on Saturday alone, roughly twice as many as on the Saturday before the last Thanksgiving.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said they were flying only about 12 percent fewer passengers than in 2019. And United said it expects the Sunday after Thanksgiving to be the busiest day since the pandemic started 20 months ago.
The pent-up travel demand has driven up ticket costs. Hopper, an app that predicts airfares, said the average domestic flight during Thanksgiving week this year would be about $ 293 round-trip, $ 48 more than last year – despite being $ 42 Dollars cheaper than it was in 2019.
While the industry is optimistic about easy travel, the influx of passengers has added an element of uncertainty to a fragile system that is still recovering from the pandemic. Some airlines have recently had problems that spread for days – thwarting travel plans for thousands of passengers – as airlines struggled to find pilots and flight attendants for delayed and rescheduled flights, a task made difficult by staff shortages.
Sydney Ember and
Credit…Eric Gay / Associated Press
The Dallas County chief elected official celebrated a victory Tuesday in his litigation over the governor’s ban on masked mandates after a state appeals court upheld an earlier injunction against the ban.
The Dallas Fifth Court of Appeal ruling upheld an August district judge ruling that Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order banning masked mandates hampered Judge Clay Jenkins’ ability to protect his constituents from Covid.
I not only represent myself, but also the interests of public health, for which I am forever grateful. I will continue to stand up for your safety against any threat. The enemy should not be another elected official. This is Team Human vs the Virus and to protect life and our economy we should….
– Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) November 23, 2021
The partisans’ tensions over whether students, teachers and school staff should be obliged to wear masks are in full swing. Some Republicans have introduced masking rules as a violation of parental rights, while many Democrats believe it is a public health issue.
Mr Abbott has faced a number of legal challenges since signing an executive order in July excluding mandates for masks and vaccinations.
Officials in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas have resisted the governor by requiring people to wear masks in schools and other public interiors.
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https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/23/world/covid-vaccine-boosters-mandates
