A move toward vaccination for young citizens ages 5 to 12 could open up a whole new level of protection from covid-19.
The drugmaker Pfizer today asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval for the use of its covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. An advisory committee of the FDA plans to meet to discuss authorization on Oct. 26.
“With new cases in children in the U.S. continuing to be at a high level, this submission is an important step in our ongoing effort against #COVID19,” Pfizer tweeted today. “We’re committed to working with the FDA with the ultimate goal of helping protect children against this serious public health threat.”
UPDATE: We and @BioNTech_Group officially submitted our request to @US_FDA for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of our #COVID19 vaccine in children 5 to <12. pic.twitter.com/72Z2HXlkOx
— Pfizer Inc. (@pfizer) October 7, 2021
Only 57.2 percent of West Virginia’s vaccine-eligible population is considered fully-vaccinated.
Approval of the vaccine for younger citizens would expand the pool of people eligible for the vaccine.
West Virginia does fairly well among older residents getting vaccinated, but the results have not been as solid among younger vaccine-eligible people.
More than 80 percent of state residents ages 65 and up are considered fully-vaccinated.
But among state residents ages 12 to 15 the rate is only 37.8 percent. Among ages 16 to 20, it is 48.8 percent.
“We’ve got to get our school kids vaccinated,” Gov. Jim Justice said today.
The state’s covid-19 numbers have continued to generally plateau, with West Virginia reporting today 11,629 active cases. That is up slightly from 11,331 on Tuesday and 11,348 on Monday.
“We believe we have passed through the eye of the storm,” Justice said.
Hospitalizations are also at a plateau, with 892 covid-patients hospitalized today. That is up a little from 885 on Monday but down from 968 last Friday. The state reports that 81.5 percent of those in the hospital are unvaccinated.
The state reported that 260 covid patients need the intensive care unit — about the same as Monday’s 258 but down from 277 a week ago. The state reports that 87 percent of those in the ICU are unvaccinated.
And 179 covid patients need the help of a ventilator to breathe, about the same as the 178 reported Monday but fewer than the 186 reported a week ago. About 90 percent of the patients who need a ventilator are unvaccinated.
Justice read the deaths of 97 West Virginians identified as dying of covid-19 during today’s briefing. West Virginia has now identified 3,866 deaths from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
“That’s the most we’ve ever had to read. That’s awful. It’s really sad. This is the impact of the surge at its peak, and we’re going to have more people gonna die.”