Category: Covid-19

DAYTON Doctors are having a hard time tracking COVID-19 case numbers because most Americans are using at-home tests.

Those number of infections could be higher due to people using at-home covid tests and not reporting it.

According to Dr. Thomas Huth from Reid Health, now that so many at-home tests are being offered, fewer people are going to physicians offices to be tested.

Consequently, its pretty clear that most people are opting to use at-home tests these days. And when theyre positive, occasionally theyll be followed up with a PCR test. Huth went on to say, How many cases we have and all I dont know it could be two to three times higher than what is making it into the official statistics may be even higher.

News Center 7s Dontre Drexelius found that cases not being reported isnt the only concern people have.

Huth tells us that at-home tests may not be as reliable due to a couple of reasons.

Rare they have false positives, but those can occur. But theyre really unusual. More likely there will be false negatives. And thats because operator error and doing all the steps correctly, but more importantly, then theres a, a smaller window of time, during which someone will be positive on the test. If they have COVID-19, Huth said.

Different brands work differently when it comes to results and how accurate the results are.

We asked Huth what brand you should use if youre at home and how you could get the best reading.

Its suggested that if youre having symptoms, you should contact your doctor even if you using an at-home test.

2022 Cox Media Group

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Why the number of COVID-19 cases reported might be skewed by at-home tests - WHIO

Despite the progress that's been made to prevent the spread of COVID-19, more people are finding themselves re-infected, regardless of vaccination status.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas Although precautions and vaccinations are in place, more people are finding themselves re-infected, regardless of vaccination status.

Pulmonologist Dr. Salim Surani said people taking precautions, like wearing a mask, is a good thing.

Dr. Surani told 3NEWS, "even as of yesterday, if you look at it, we had more than 100,000 people who had an infection. Even in Nueces County, it's almost 175 people who were infected, many of those were reinfection."

The challenge with the number of reinfection cases is that these can be an underestimation, because people have the option of at-home testing.

"I think people are recognizing that there is a higher incidence of infection, and a lot of the folks who have already received the vaccine, or they've had COVID in the past, they're getting the infection again," Dr. Surani shared.

The vaccine is doing its job to prevent serious illness and hospitalizations, but the vaccine immunity wears off after a certain amount of time. That may be the reason why people are seeing more reinfections lately. Boosters, along with vaccinations, are crucial.

"I think we have to go beyond that," Dr. Surani said. "We have to have a constant state of vigilance. In other words, if you see an increased number of cases in your community, then you need to make sure that you avoid large public gatherings."

Social distancing and hand washing are practices that we've been doing for the past few years. These precautions work hand-in-hand with vaccinations and boosters, like the vaccinations that were recently approved for those six-months and up.

"If you look at the bigger states like California and New York, they have more than 200 cases of reinfection," Dr. Surani said. "So the reinfection is going to happen, depending on your community prevalence or incidence of the disease. The higher number of cases that are in the community, the more chances you may get infected."

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COVID-19 reinfections are on the rise in Nueces County - KIIITV.com

Experts recommend regulatory policies to improve long-term care in the wake of COVID-19.

Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly one-third of coronavirus deaths in the United States have been residents and employees of these facilities. As of May 2021, confirmed cases in these facilities have reached over one million. The leading explanation for these high rates is that residents advanced age and comorbidities make them particularly at risk for severe illness and death from the virus. This risk is compounded by the communal nature of long-term facilities, which increases the likelihood of residents and staff spreading COVID-19. Still, some experts argue that regulatory failures and chronic underfunding are partly to blame for such tragic outcomes in one of Americas most vulnerable populations.

Although the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic are new, the crisis in long-term care is not. Long-term care facilities have a long history of low-quality care. In 1986, a study by the Institute of Medicine found that nursing home residents were routinely given inadequate care, neglected, or abused. In response, Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act, which set new care standards, upgraded staffing requirements, and established an enforcement mechanism for noncompliant facilities. Today, states enforce these standards through unannounced surveys conducted every 9 to 15 months, with variable penalties depending on the severity of the violation.

Most nursing home quality measures have improved over time under this law, but the majority of facilities still fall short of federal standards. In recent years, over 90 percent of nursing homes have received at least one citation per year for violating federal regulations. The pandemic only exposed and amplified these issues. Numerous nursing home residents have reported instances of severe neglect during lockdowns, including extreme weight loss and untreated bedsores.

Neglect for long-term care is also visible in its patchwork funding regime. The majority of long-term care is paid for by Medicaid, which only becomes available once individuals have exhausted their personal assets. Medicaid funding for long-term care also varies dramatically by state and is frequently under threat of budget cuts, especially during economic downturns. For individuals who look to private insurance to cover costs, they often find prohibitively high premiums. Fewer than 1 in 30 Americans own a long-term care insurance plan. Medicare, the primary insurer of Americans over 65 years old, does not cover long-term care beyond 100 days.

As a result of this patchwork system, nursing homes are chronically underfunded. The majority of nursing homes in the U.S. operate at a net loss, and hundreds of nursing homes have been forced to close in recent years. Thin or negative profit margins prompt facilities to cut corners in care quality and staffing levels, perpetuating low quality care. During the pandemic, increased costs have placed nursing homes on the brink of collapse, prompting billions of dollars of federal aid.

Today, approximately 12 million people in the U.S. need long-term care. By 2050, that number is expected to more than double. The challenges of the pandemic present a unique opportunity for policymakers to evaluate how the long-term care system is failing, so as to better prepare for increased demand going forward.

In this weeks Saturday Seminar, scholars explore how regulatory failures contributed to COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes and provide potential avenues for reform.

The Saturday Seminar is a weekly feature that aims to put into written form the kind of content that would be conveyed in a live seminar involving regulatory experts. Each week,The Regulatory Reviewpublishes a brief overview of a selected regulatory topic and then distills recent research and scholarly writing on that topic.

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Long-Term Care After COVID-19 - The Regulatory Review

ALBANY COVID continues its slow retreat across the state, with infection counts and hospital census admissions greatly diminished but still not low.

On Thursday alone, 6,375 New Yorkers were lab-confirmed to have COVID infections and an unknown additional number tested positive with at-home test kits.

Also Thursday, 1,824 hospital patients statewide were COVID-positive, though only 42% originally were admitted because of COVID symptoms or complications.

This compares to a one-day peak this year of 90,132 positive tests and 12,671 people hospitalized, both in January, and a recent one-day high of 13,902 positives in May.

As June ends, COVID infections per-capita are highest in and near New York City. All five boroughs, Long Island and most of the lower Hudson Valley are above the statewide average of 24.8 new cases per day per 100,000 residents on a seven-day rolling average.

The Capital Region stands at 14.2 cases per day per 100,000 residents and the Mohawk Valley at 12.0 cases. The two regions hospitals were treating 104 and 20 COVID-positive patients, respectively, on Thursday.

This is the second decline for COVID in 2022: After the huge omicron surge in late December and early January, new infections plummeted through March, then rose to a mini-spike in mid-spring, at which time upstate New York had one of the highest rates of new infections in the nation.

As of June 24, if they were a state, the 57 counties outside New York City would rank 42nd among the states for new infections per capita, while New York City would rank eighth.

Almost 28 months after COVID was first reported in New York, the state Department of Health ended its daily reporting of disease statistics on Friday, moving to once-a-week updates in line with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventions schedule.

New York also has begun shutting down its mass vaccination sites, even as Gov. Kathy Hochul continues to press vaccine and boosters, particularly the youngest New Yorkers, who became eligible for shots only very recently.

Mass vaccination sites in Queensbury and Suffern were closed June 16 and 17. The sites at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland and SUNY Old Westbury administered their last shots Friday. The remaining four will shut down June 30.

Statewide, 77.7% of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated against COVID. Schenectady County, at 80.3%, has the highest percentage outside New York City and its contiguous counties.

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COVID-19 continues to ebb in Capital Region The Daily Gazette - The Daily Gazette

2022 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

COVID-19 continues its run around the deck at the 2022 FINA World Championships.

New Zealands teen starErika Fairweathertested positive after finals on Day 5. According to New Zealand news websiteStuff, Fairweather said she had a scratchy throat after being in contact with several Australian athletes who had tested positive. As of June 25th, Lani Pallister and an unnamed team official are the only ones among Australias Worlds contingent who have been reported as COVID positive.

The diagnosis kept Fairweather off the mixed 4100 freestyle relay. The Kiwis team ofLewis Clareburt, Carter Swift, Chelsea Edwards, andLaura Littlejohnswam 3:27.91. That time set a new national record, but they missed out on the final as they finished 9th, .71 behind China. Edwards, who subbed in for Fairweather, split 55.39. Fairweathers best flat start is 55.49 from April 2021. While she likely could have been under that with a rolling start, its not clear if having Fairweather on the relay would have vaulted them into the final.

Swimming New Zealands Olympic program lead Gary Francis is keeping a World Championships diary on Swimming New Zealands website. In his latest entry, he discussed the positive test. Notably, he wrote about creating a second isolation room for Mya Rasmussen, Fairweathers roommate.

FINAs protocols dont require isolation for close contacts at these Worlds if vaccinated. But it seems Rasmussen is vaccinatedshe competed in Day 8 prelims of the womens 400 IM, where she finished 10th in 4:41.98. She wouldnt have been able to compete if she was unvaccinated, as her six day isolation period wouldnt have been up. So, the second isolation room looks to be out of an abundance of caution.

Fairweather is reportedly asymptomatic, but shell remain in isolated in Budapest until cleared to travel. Francis is staying in Budapest as well for the open water racing. After thats complete and Fairweather is cleared, they will join the rest of the team in Spain, where theyre preparing for the Commonwealth Games.

Earlier in the meet, she finished sixth in the 400 free (4:04.73), 11th in the 200 free (1:57.43), and led off New Zealands seventh place 4200 free relay team in 1:58.24. At Commonwealth Games, shes slated to race the 100, 200, and 400 free.

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Erika Fairweather Tests Positive for COVID-19 - SwimSwam

The total number of new cases of COVID-19 in Evanston was 215 for the week ending June 22, 6% higher than the week ending June 16. The number of new cases in the state decreased by about 16%. Hospitalizations remained at about the same level.

Cook County, including Chicago, is in the medium community risk level. City officials say Evanston is also in the medium risk level.

The City of Evanston says that the state, the county and the city do not have a mechanism to report, verify or track at-home test results. Because a positive at-home test is regarded as highly accurate, most people who test positive at home do not get a second test outside the home that is reported to government officials. The number of new COVID-19 cases reported by Illinois Department of Public Health and the city thus significantly understates the actual number of new cases that are contracted.

Last week the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Modernas vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years old and Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years old.

Modernas vaccine recommends two doses given four weeks apart. Pfifzers vaccine suggests three doses, with the second dose given three weeks after the first, and the third two months after the second.

Both vaccines are currently available in Illinois this week. The IDPH recommends that people find their nearest vaccination location at vaccines.gov.

Illinois: On June 23 the number of new cases in the state was 3,493.

The seven-day average of new cases in Illinois on June 23 was 3,575, down from 4,251 on June 16, a16% decrease. The chart below shows the trend.

Evanston: Evanston reported there were 42 new COVID-19 cases of local residents on June 22.(Evanston is reporting COVID-19 data with a one-day delay.)

There was a total of 215 new COVID-19 cases of Evanston residents in the week ending June 22, compared to 203 new cases in the week ending June 16, an increase of about 6%.

The chart below shows the trend.

One Evanstonian died from COVID-19 during the week ending June 22. That bring the number of deaths due to COVID-19 to 150.

Northwestern University. The latest data reported on NUs website is that between June 10 and June 16 there were 106 new COVID-19 cases of faculty, staff or students. If the cases are of an Evanston resident, they are included in Evanstons data for the relevant period, Ike Ogbo, Director of Evanstons Department of Health and Human Services told the RoundTable. NU will update its data tomorrow.

The weekly number of new cases per 100,000 people in Illinois is 196 in the seven days ending June 23.

As of June 22, the weekly number of new cases per 100,000 people in Evanston was 290. As of June 23, the number was 164 for Chicago, and 206 for suburban Cook County. An accompanying chart shows the trend.

Hospitalizations in Illinois due to COVID-19 have stayed about the same in the last three weeks. They were 1,129 on June 22, about 60 fewer than one week ago.

The chart below, prepared by the City of Evanston, shows the trends in Evanston hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

The CDC and IDPH look at the combination of three metrics to determine whether a community level of risk for COVID-19 is low, medium or high: 1) total number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days; 2) the new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 in the last seven days; and 3) the percent of staffed inpatient hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. [1]

The City of Evanston reported June 23 that Evanston is in the mediumrisk category. IDPH reported today that Cook County, including Chicago, is in the medium risk category.

While Evanston has more than 200 new cases per 100,000 people, the city reported this evening that it has a seven-day total of 6.4 new hospital admissions per 100,000, and that it has 2.2% staffed inpatient hospital beds that are occupied by COVID patients, using a seven-day average.

The Ccty has not said which hospitals or how many hospitals it is considering in making its analysis of community risk.

The CDC and IDPH recommend that people in a community with a medium transmission rate should take the following precautions:

FOOTNOTES

1/ CDC recommends the use of three indicators to measure COVID-19 Community Levels: 1) new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the last 7 days; 2) new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population in the last 7 days; and 3) the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by patients with confirmed COVID-19 (7-day average).

The chart below illustrates how these indicators are combined to determine whether COVID-19 Community Levels are low, medium, or high. The CDC provides many recommendations depending on whether the COVID-19 Community Level is low, medium, or high.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/indicators-monitoring-community-levels.html

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COVID-19 update as of June 23: Evanston and Cook County each rated in the medium community risk level - Evanston RoundTable

What GAO Found

Twenty-three of 24 major agencies GAO surveyed reported implementing regulatory flexibilities in response to COVID-19. Regulatory flexibilities can include actions that modify regulatory standards, as well as activities that modify their applicability (e.g., through waivers or exemptions) or enforcement. A majority of agencies reported increased use of multiple types of flexibilities in response to COVID-19 compared to before the pandemic (see figure).

Agencies' Change in Use of Regulatory Flexibilities in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Officials from each of the five agencies GAO interviewedthe Departments of Energy, Homeland Security, and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administrationreported designing and implementing flexibilities based on internal expertise developed from prior events. For example, officials reported that their experiences managing Ebola, constrained funding situations, and natural disasterssuch as Hurricanes Sandy and Mariahelped them develop responses to COVID-19. Officials from these agencies stated that they generally did not rely on specific plans, policies, or other tools given the unique challenges posed by COVID-19.

Fifteen of the 24 agencies GAO surveyed reported having already completed an assessment of at least one regulatory flexibility to understand successes or challenges with using them. Ten agencies reported having used at least one such assessment to inform their decision-making, such as whether to modify an existing flexibility or use a new flexibility. Officials from several of the selected agencies reported that their agencies had not conducted assessments of at least one of the flexibilities discussed with GAO. Among reasons why assessments were not conducted, officials said that some flexibilities were intended to be temporary, and that their focus remained on responding to and recovering from the ongoing pandemic.

Federal regulations can generate substantial benefits to society, but benefits can diminish if regulations are not adapted to meet emerging public needs. Federal agencies have implemented regulatory flexibilities to address the COVID-19 pandemic's substantial effect. Regulatory flexibilities are actions taken, at least in part, to temporarily reduce regulatory burdens or constraints imposed on regulated entities.

The CARES Act includes a provision for GAO to report on its COVID-19 pandemic oversight efforts. GAO was also asked to look at regulatory flexibilities available to agencies in responding to COVID-19. For this report, GAO examines (1) agencies' implementation of regulatory flexibilities in response to the pandemic; (2) the plans, policies, and other tools selected agencies used to identify and design regulatory flexibilities; and (3) efforts these selected agencies took to assess the impacts of regulatory flexibilities.

To do so, in October 2021, GAO surveyed 24 major federal agenciesthose identified in the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, as amendedregarding their use of COVID-19 regulatory flexibilities. GAO also interviewed officials at five agencies in part because those agencies reported using more types of flexibilities in response to COVID-19 compared to before the pandemic. GAO interviewed officials about how they identified, designed, and assessed their flexibilities. GAO also reviewed GAO's work related to major agencies' COVID-19 flexibilities, and summarized examples of these flexibilities, as appropriate.

For more information, contact Yvonne D. Jones at (202) 512-6806 or JonesY@gao.gov.

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COVID-19: Agencies Increased Use of Some Regulatory Flexibilities and Are Taking Steps to Assess Them - Government Accountability Office

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a novel rapid assay that can detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 using widely-available glucose meters. This novel glucose meter-based antibody assay is easier to perform and more cost-effective than the current gold-standard assays.

One of the studys co-authors Dr. Jamie Spangler, professor at Johns Hopkins University, said, This work presents an innovative approach towards democratizing the availability of immune protection data by enlisting commercial glucometers to quantitatively measure levels of disease-targeted antibodies.

Dr. Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, said, While there are notable barriers to the development of fieldable diagnostics using off-the-shelf glucometers, studies such as these highlight a possible future where home diagnosis is as cheap and accurate as glucose sensing. At this point, we will have a transformation in global surveillance and personal disease detection.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The tests for diagnosing COVID-19 detect the presence of viral genetic material or proteins. In contrast, assays measuring antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can help assess past exposure to the virus.

These antibodies include IgG antibodies, which are the predominant type of antibodies present in the blood. IgG antibodies play a vital role in producing an immune response against bacteria and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

Notably, these IgG antibodies persist for months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection or after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

The IgG antibody levels are predictive of the degree of protection against a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, evaluating antibody levels in the population can help determine how long immunity against COVID-19 persists after vaccination or a previous infection.

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants has also raised fears about waning immunity, making it crucial to assess levels of immune protection in the population. Determining antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 could thus help to guide policy decisions about the need for booster shots.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are the gold standard for measuring antibody levels. However, accurately quantifying antibody levels using ELISAs requires blood samples to be sent to specialized laboratories due to the need for expensive detection devices. As a result, conducting these assays is time-consuming, costly, and requires skilled technicians.

Although rapid ELISA tests have been developed for use in the clinic, these tests only provide qualitative information and remain costly. Thus, there is a need for cost-effective and broadly accessible alternatives to ELISAs that can be used by clinicians or the general public.

To overcome these limitations associated with ELISAs, scientists have developed tests that are compatible with glucose meters. Using commercially available glucose meters for antibody detection can reduce the cost of detection and the need for skilled technicians.

These tests involve antibodies or other detection molecules coupled with the enzyme invertase which breaks down sucrose or sugar into glucose. The antibodies coupled with invertase bind to the protein of interest in a sample and produce glucose upon the introduction of a sucrose solution. The amount of glucose produced is proportional to the amount of protein of interest and can be detected by a glucose meter.

Coupling antibodies with invertase, however, has proved difficult. In some studies, researchers have indirectly coupled invertase with antibodies with the help of intermediate compounds such as nanoparticles. However, such an approach can cause variation in the amount of coupling and produces inconsistent results.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have now developed a novel assay involving antibodies that are directly coupled with two invertase molecules. The researchers used genetically modified laboratory cultured cells to express these antibodies fused with invertase molecules.

In contrast to indirect coupling, the genetic fusion of the antibody and invertase enzyme ensures that a consistent number of invertase molecules are attached to the antibody. These antibodies coupled with invertase can bind to all human IgG antibodies.

The novel assay uses a plastic strip coated with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Upon incubation of the strip with blood samples from those with a history of COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies selectively bind to the spike proteins coating the surface of the strip.

After rinsing the strip to remove the non-specific antibodies, the strip is first transferred to a solution containing the antibody-invertase fusion protein, and then to a sucrose solution.

The SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies bound to the spike protein on the strip can then be detected by the antibody-invertase fusion protein. The invertase enzyme subsequently breaks down sucrose into glucose, which can be detected using a glucose meter. The assay produces glucose in proportion to the SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in the blood sample.

In the present study, the researchers found that the glucose meter-based antibody-invertase protein assay could accurately detect IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and its performance was comparable with commercially available ELISAs.

The antibody-invertase fusion protein recognizes all IgG antibodies produced by the human body, making this assay versatile.

The immediate goal for this technology is to scale up manufacturing to allow for broad deployment. We hope to use emergent data from this platform to correlate disease protection with antibody levels across a wide range of subjects, Dr. Spangler said.

The assay could be used against other conditions by coating the strip with a protein other than the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. For instance, strips coated with the spike protein from a SARS-CoV-2 variant could be used to measure antibody levels against that variant.

We envision that the assay we have developed could be adapted to detect antibodies against future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as against other infectious diseases. The assay could also be used to detect antibodies in the context of other conditions such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, allergy, or transplantation. Dr. Jamie Spangler

This technology can offer important scientific insights and also inform decisions related to medical interventions and public health policies. Furthermore, the versatile nature of this platform allows it to be readily adapted to target a variety of disease applications beyond infection, added Dr. Spangler.

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COVID-19: Simple glucose meter test could tell if you have antibodies - Medical News Today

(WHTM) From Lancaster to Harrisburg, Covid-19 is still spreading rampantly through the community.

Even though we are seeing an increase in cases, were not seeing an increase in severe disease and I think thats because we have many more people vaccinated and many people who are already infected, said Dr. John Goldman, infectious disease specialist at UPMC.

Now those vaccines are on the way for the smallest children, 5 years old and under. The FDA authorized both Pfizer and Moderna for U.S. children. Shipping for the new doses started this weekend.

But which one should your child get? Dr. Goldman says either one is fine.

Im not sure there is any difference between the individual vaccines but I think the most important thing is to make sure the child is vaccinated, Dr. Goldman said.

Both UPMC and Lancaster General Health expect to receive doses in the next week,

While Covid-19 has been less dangerous for kids, Dr. Goldman says that doesnt mean its harmless.

There are still more children that have died from COVID than have died from the flu. Its an important part of fighting COVID if the kids under 5 who frequently are drivers of the disease and frequently infect their parents and frequently infect grandparents get vaccinated, he added.

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UPMC seeing COVID-19 spikes in the Midstate - ABC27

WASHINGTON (AP) Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, says his COVID-19 recovery is an example for the nation on the protection offered by vaccines and boosters.

Watch the event in the player above.

Speaking during a White House briefing, Fauci, 81, said he began experiencing virus symptoms on June 14 and tested positive a day later. He was prescribed the anti-viral drug Paxlovid, which has proven to be highly effective at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, on June 15.

Im still feeling really quite fine, Fauci said Thursday, as the administration emphasized the protection offered by vaccines to people of all ages, after the U.S. became the first country in the world to extend vaccine eligibility to children as young as six months.

I think Im an example, given my age, of what were all talking about today, Fauci said. Im vaccinated. Im doubly boosted. And I believe if that were not the case, I very likely would not be talking to you looking as well as I look, I think, right now. So all is well with Fauci.

WATCH: Missouri becomes latest state to use COVID relief to support underfunded schools

Vaccine shipments for infants and toddlers arrived in some locations over the weekend and some spots, including a Walgreens in South Carolina and another in New York City, opened up appointments for Monday.

The Food and Drug Administration greenlighted the Moderna and Pfizer kid shots on Friday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them Saturday. In the U.S., COVID-19 vaccines were first tested and given in late 2020 to health care workers and older adults. Teens and school-age kids were added last year.

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WATCH: Dr. Anthony Fauci says hes an example of COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness - PBS NewsHour