One beloved aardvark could have left us earlier this yr when “Arthur” ended its 25-year run on PBS, however the San Diego Zoo has us lined with the arrival of a new aardvark cub, the primary one born to the zoo in nearly 40 years.
At present in well being care, the wait is (nearly) lastly over for folks of children below 5. And a political combat is heating up over vaccinating younger children in Florida.
Welcome to In a single day Well being Care, the place we’re following the most recent strikes on coverage and information affecting your well being. For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Somebody ahead you this article? Subscribe right here.
FDA indicators off on COVID vax for youths below 5
The Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday gave the inexperienced gentle to COVID-19 vaccines for youngsters ages 5 and youthful, a key step towards making the photographs accessible for the youngest kids.
- The company licensed the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech for youths ages 6 months to 4 years outdated, in addition to a vaccine from Moderna for youths as much as age 5.
- Greater than a yr and a half since COVID-19 vaccines started rolling out for adults, children below 5 are the final group eligible to be vaccinated. There are about 18 million of them eligible.
“Many dad and mom, caregivers and clinicians have been ready for a vaccine for youthful kids and this motion will assist defend these down to six months of age. As we’ve seen with older age teams, we count on that the vaccines for youthful kids will present safety from probably the most extreme outcomes of COVID-19, akin to hospitalization and dying,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf mentioned in a press release.
With the authorization, vaccines can begin being shipped to states and different jurisdictions that preordered the preliminary batch.
What’s subsequent: The precise first photographs will doubtless come initially of subsequent week after a CDC advisory committee meets tomorrow.
Clyburn hits DeSantis over little one vaccine choice
Home Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) demanded that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) reverse or clarify his choice after he declined to order COVID-19 vaccines for youngsters below 5 years of age.
In a letter despatched Friday, Clyburn, the chairman of the the Home Choose Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Disaster, added that he was involved by DeSantis’s public feedback that he’s against dedicating any state assets to vaccinating younger kids in opposition to COVID-19.
“On account of your refusal to take part, Florida dad and mom who want to vaccinate their kids could also be compelled to attend even longer, and their kids could possibly be left with out the safety these vaccines present,” Clyburn wrote.
He pressured that each state however Florida ordered vaccines, after the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday gave the inexperienced gentle to COVID-19 vaccines for youngsters ages 5 and youthful.
“There’s not going to be any state applications which are going to be attempting to get COVID jabs to infants and toddlers and newborns,” DeSantis mentioned on Thursday. “That’s not one thing that we expect is suitable, and in order that’s not the place we’re going to be using our assets.”
As The Related Press famous on Friday, particular person well being suppliers in Florida at the moment are in a position to order photographs, however the state didn’t preorder them.
OMICRON LESS LIKELY TO CAUSE LONG COVID
The omicron variant of the coronavirus is considerably much less doubtless than the sooner delta variant to trigger signs of lengthy COVID-19, in line with a brand new research.
- The research from researchers in the UK printed in The Lancet finds that 4.5 p.c of omicron circumstances resulted in lengthy COVID, in comparison with 10.8 p.c of delta circumstances.
- Whereas on one hand it’s excellent news that the at present circulating omicron variant is much less prone to trigger lengthy COVID than the sooner delta variant, the research additionally reveals there nonetheless is a major likelihood of getting lengthy COVID, even with omicron.
“The Omicron variant seems considerably much less prone to trigger Lengthy-COVID than earlier variants however nonetheless 1 in 23 individuals who catch COVID-19 go on to have signs for greater than 4 weeks,” Claire Steves, the research’s lead writer and a researcher at King’s Faculty London, mentioned in a press release.
As well as, as a result of the omicron variant spreads extra simply and infects extra folks, the full variety of lengthy COVID circumstances was really greater throughout the omicron interval, the research discovered.
IOWA SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST ABORTION PROTECTIONS
The Iowa Supreme Court docket issued a ruling Friday that abortion just isn’t protected within the state structure, overturning a ruling from 4 years in the past as federal abortion rights seem extremely endangered.
The ruling reverses a decrease court docket transfer that blocked a regulation establishing a 24-hour ready interval earlier than an individual can get an abortion.
Pivotal timing forward of Roe ruling: The choice comes because the U.S. Supreme Court docket seems poised to overturn its ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established the correct to an abortion on a nationwide degree, after a leaked draft opinion confirmed a majority of the justices favored reversing the landmark choice.
Iowa had beforehand been considered one of a number of states whose highest courts had dominated their state constitutions protected abortion rights. State supreme courts have issued such rulings in Kansas in 2019, Montana in 1999, Alaska in 1997 and Florida in 1989.
If the Supreme Court docket overturns Roe, 26 states are prone to ban abortion, in line with the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy group.
Greater than 400K bottles of treatment recalled
The Shopper Product Security Fee on Thursday introduced the recall of over 400,000 bottles of over-the-counter medication as a consequence of points with the child-resistant packaging, which didn’t meet the necessities within the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
What corporations are recalling:
Shoppers can contact Aurohealth for data on methods to return bottles of the Walgreens model medication to their nearest Walgreens retailer to obtain a full refund. They can contact Kroger for data on methods to obtain a full refund and correctly eliminate the recalled Kroger model medicines.
“The packaging of the merchandise just isn’t little one resistant, posing a danger of poisoning if the contents are swallowed by younger kids,” every recall reads.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- U.S. Covid take a look at makers anticipate layoffs after authorities reallocates funds (Stat)
- A Gull Flaps Its Wings and a Lethal Virus Explodes (The New York Occasions)
- COVID circumstances are upending biking, and the Tour de France begins in 2 weeks (NPR)
STATE BY STATE
- Two Tennessee Abortion Clinics, Awaiting Excessive-Court docket Ruling, Grapple With Uncertainty (Kaiser Well being Information)
- Minn. Republican threatens retaliation in opposition to medical board (Related Press)
- Why some counties are nonetheless struggling to vaccinate residents in opposition to COVID-19 (ABC Information)
That’s it for at present, thanks for studying. Try The Hill’s Well being Care web page for the most recent information and protection. See you subsequent week.
