Month: May 2021

In a first, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a COVID-19 vaccine for use in kids ages 12 to 15 — terrific news for adolescents (and their parents) who have been waiting anxiously for this cohort to be eligible for the shot. In some cases, Monday’s FDA action on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will allow entire families — not just mom and dad — to safely eat indoors at a restaurant, watch a movie in a theater, attend a baseball game or even hang out at a friend’s house with minimal risk of becoming ill. That could be life-changing for some families. But beyond that, will the availability of a vaccine for younger teens make much of a dent in our collective fight against the coronavirus? After all, kids in this age group make up just over 5% of the U.S. population, according t...

Health officials in England reported zero daily coronavirus deaths on Monday, the first time no COVID-19 fatalities were reported in a 24-hour period since July.  There were 2,357 new cases reported on the same day, according to data released by Public Health England.  Zero deaths were also reported in Scotland and Northern Ireland. CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN Wales reported four coronavirus-related deaths. The figures come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to ease lockdown restrictions.  The news in England marked the first time since July 30 that no deaths occurred within 28 days of COVID-19 positivity, The Guardian reported.  "With deaths and hospitalizations at their lowest level since last July and the UK's four chief medical officers today agreei...

Press release from the Humboldt County Joint Information Center: A Humboldt County resident has died with COVID-19, and 45 new cases of the virus have been reported since Friday. A total of 3,980 county residents have tested positive for the virus.   The person who died was in their 60s, marking the county’s 40th death related to COVID-19. Humboldt County Public Health and the Emergency Operations Center staff share their sympathies with all community members who have lost friends and loved ones to the virus.  One previously reported hospitalization of a person who tested positive for COVID-19 was determined to be unrelated to the virus and has been removed from the county’s count. Public Health is reporting one new hospitalization today for a cumulative total of 165.  Humbold...

Los Angeles County could reach herd immunity from the coronavirus among adults and the oldest teenagers by mid- to late July, public health officials said Monday. Herd immunity, sometimes referred to as community immunity, occurs when enough people have been inoculated or have obtained natural immunity to protect the larger population against the virus. Experts had previously expressed concern that waning demand for the COVID-19 vaccines and uneven vaccination rates could make it hard to reach that goal. With about 400,000 shots administered weekly, the county has about 2 million first doses to go before 80% of all residents 16 and older will have received at least one shot, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a news briefing Monday. “At the rate we’re goin...