COVID-19 Vaccines: Children, Boosters, Mandates

From NIHCM Foundation

As of October 1st, the U.S. surpassed the estimated deaths that occurred during the 1918 influenza pandemic with 700,000 COVID-19 related deaths. Recent studies have shown that newer variants, such as Alpha, Delta, and Mu have evolved to spread more efficiently through the air, infecting more people than the original virus. As the national vaccination rate slows, the focus has shifted towards children’s vaccines, booster shots, and vaccine mandates. 

• Children: Pfizer has submitted their application for authorization of the vaccine for children 5-11 years old and the FDA has scheduled a review of the data for October 26th. Vaccinating children is critical to ending the pandemic, however, 42% of parents say they are unlikely to get their children vaccinated. 
• Boosters: COVID-19 vaccine booster doses are currently only available to eligible Pfizer recipients. The FDA is meeting on October 14th and 15th to discuss boosters for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. According to a CDC study, the side effects of the booster shots are similar to those of the second dose.
• Mandates: The Biden Administration ordered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to draft a new rule mandating that all companies with more than 100 workers require vaccination or weekly testing. A recent poll found that support for requiring public school students 12+ to be vaccinated against Covid stood at 54%.