More Than 500,000 Children Tested Positive For COVID-19 In 3 Weeks. Experts Say School Mask Mandates Are Needed

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(CNN) — The melodramatic emergence successful Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations owed to the much transmissible Delta variant is importantly impacting each property groups, peculiarly Americans ages 11 oregon younger who are not yet eligible to person vaccinations.

More than 500,000 children tested affirmative for Covid-19 successful the US from August 5 to August 26, according to authorities data collected by the American Academy of Pediatrics. At slightest 203,962 of those cases were reported successful the week of August 19 to August 26; In precocious June, 1 play reported fig was conscionable shy of 8,500.

With concerns gathering implicit safely allowing children to instrumentality to in-person learning astatine schools, wellness experts hold that disguise mandates are an effectual instrumentality successful stemming infections.

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“The microorganism is raging successful each these children who are unvaccinated, which is wherefore successful schools disguise mandates are truthful important,” CNN aesculapian expert Dr. Jonathan Reiner told Jake Tapper past week, pointing retired that inoculation rates are besides debased among adolescents who are eligible. “They person nary different protection. They’re virtually sitting ducks.”

More states and schoolhouse districts crossed the state are imposing disguise and vaccine mandates, portion others are moving to bounds Covid-19 vulnerability among the unvaccinated. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced connected Tuesday plans to instrumentality mandatory play Covid-19 investigating for authorities schoolhouse unit who are not vaccinated.

“We each request to stay vigilant to support each different – and that means coming successful to get your changeable and booster shot, wearing masks successful indoor spaces, and exercising basal information measures that we are each acquainted with by now,” Hochul said.

For teens ages 12 and up attending classes, it remains imperative for them to person vaccinations to assistance curb the dispersed of Covid-19, officials say. And vaccine mandates, portion unpopular to some, whitethorn beryllium a indispensable step.

“I judge that mandating vaccines for children to look successful schoolhouse is simply a bully idea,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, manager of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN this week, noting that this would not beryllium a extremist thought to impose.

“This is not thing new. We person mandates successful galore places successful schools, peculiarly nationalist schools, that if successful information you privation a kid to travel successful — we’ve done this for decades and decades requiring (vaccines for) polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis,” Fauci said. “So this would not beryllium thing new, requiring vaccinations for children to travel to school.”

Officials expect further vaccine information soon

Cognizant of the anxiousness felt by immoderate parents and guardians sending their children backmost to schoolhouse unvaccinated, wellness officials accidental they are moving expediently to reappraisal whether the property of vaccine eligibility tin beryllium lowered.

If authorized, the CDC would determination rapidly to urge the usage of Covid-19 vaccines successful younger children, bureau manager Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.

“Everybody is looking astatine this with urgency. Everyone recognizes however important it is for those children to person entree to vaccines,” Walensky said during a National Parent Teacher Association municipality hallway Wednesday.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indispensable o.k. oregon authorize the vaccines successful younger children first, Walensky noted. And the vaccine makers indispensable marque the lawsuit to the FDA with objective proceedings data.

“My knowing of the timeline is beauteous accordant with what is being said — the mediate of autumn is my understanding, aboriginal autumn is erstwhile we volition expect seeing the information — and past it volition prevarication with the hands of the FDA. And I’m hopeful for the extremity of the year,” she said.

Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine has been afloat approved by the FDA for Americans 16 and older, and exigency usage authorization has been granted for those 12 and up. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are nether exigency usage authorization lone for adults 18 and older.

Moderna announced past week that it had completed its submission to the FDA for afloat approval, and has besides filed with the FDA for an exigency usage authorization for its vaccine successful radical property 12 and older.

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Clinical trials of vaccines for children nether the property of 12 are ongoing.

Fauci said Wednesday that the FDA should person the information to see authorizing a Covid-19 vaccine for children nether 12 by the extremity of September.

“We should person capable of the information to analyse and marque a determination arsenic we get into precocious September, the opening of October,” Fauci said. “Then the information volition beryllium presented to the FDA, and the FDA volition marque a determination whether they volition assistance that nether an exigency usage authorization oregon immoderate different mechanism.”

When asked whether a Covid-19 vaccine volition beryllium authorized for young children earlier Thanksgiving, Fauci said helium hopes so, but does not privation to get up of the FDA.

Group says nursing shortage is simply a ‘national crisis’

With the emergence successful hospitalizations felt nationwide, a wellness attraction manufacture that is exhausted and consistently exposed to Covid-19 corruption has sometimes resulted successful less employees. States and networks person clamored for greater levels of staffing astatine a captious clip of the pandemic.

The American Nurses Association has called connected the US Department of Health and Human Services to state the nation’s shortage of nurses a “national crisis,” according to a missive the radical sent to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

“The nation’s wellness attraction transportation systems are overwhelmed, and nurses are bushed and frustrated arsenic this persistent pandemic rages connected with nary extremity successful sight. Nurses unsocial cannot lick this longstanding contented and it is not our load to carry,” relation president Ernest Grant said connected Wednesday.

Hospital unit stay astatine hazard for Covid-19, researchers reported connected Wednesday. Due to a operation of waning vaccine extortion and the Delta variant, coronavirus infections person steadily risen among vaccinated healthcare workers successful San Diego, Dr. Jocelyn Keehner and Dr. Lucy Horton of the University of California San Diego Health wrote successful a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.

They enactment that their findings enactment arguments for utilizing masks much often arsenic good arsenic perchance offering booster doses of vaccine if akin grounds is gathered elsewhere.

The strain placed connected wellness attraction systems is apt to proceed into the adjacent future, but determination are signs that the concern could commencement to improve.

For the 2nd week successful a row, an ensemble forecast from the CDC has projected that caller Covid-19 hospitalizations are apt to stay unchangeable oregon person an uncertain inclination implicit the adjacent 4 weeks. Before past week, the forecasts had projected expanding hospitalizations since mid-July.

Yet contempt the imaginable quality that the surge could soon ease, the CDC urges caution with the information since existent numbers person fallen extracurricular the scope of erstwhile predictions. CDC’s latest forecast predicts 550,000 to 1,600,000 caller cases apt to beryllium reported successful the week ending September 25.

In the abbreviated term, Fauci told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that it volition assistance for radical to signifier mitigation measures, similar masking and avoiding congregate settings.

“In the intermediate and longer term, it’s going to beryllium vaccines that are going to lick this problem,” Fauci said.

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