COVID-19 UPDATE: CDC Endorses Pfizer Boosters; 13th Kane Death in 8 Days; 3,505 New Cases Statewide

COVID-19 UPDATE: CDC Endorses Pfizer Boosters; 13th Kane Death in 8 Days; 3,505 New Cases Statewide

/ September 24, 2021 / Comments Off on COVID-19 UPDATE: CDC Endorses Pfizer Boosters; 13th Kane Death in 8 Days; 3,505 New Cases Statewide / Breaking News, Communities, Consumers, Elections, Government, Health, Kane County Health Department, Public Safety, Public Service, State of Illinois

ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO GET VACCINATED

8:30AM FRIDAY UPDATE

OVERVIEW: CDC Endorses Boosters; New Data Shows Vaccines Do Not Increase Risk of Birth Defects; Pandemic Could Be Over in 1 Year

In a highly unusual decision, the CDC Director Rochelle Walensky reversed a move by agency advisers and endorsed additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for health care workers, teachers and other workers at risk, the New York Times and others report.

Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late on Thursday recommended a third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, as well as others at a high risk of severe illness, NPR and others report. Roughly 22 million Americans are at least six months past their second Pfizer dose, according to the CDC. About half are 65 or older.

The committee recommended, and Walensky agreed:

  • That people aged 50-64 years old with underlying medical conditions get a third shot, in a 13-2 vote.
  • That people aged 18 to 49 who have an underlying medical risk access to another dose, based on individual benefit and risk.

The committee said people age 18-65 years old who work in a job or other setting where they are at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 should not yet be allowed to receive an extra Pfizer dose. But Walensky overturned that recommendation. More information will be available later today (Friday, Sept. 24, 2021) in the Friday afternoon COVID-19 update article.

Additional types of COVID-19 vaccines may be available at some point in the future, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said on Thursday. The two vaccines depend upon a purified protein subunit: Sanofi GSK and Novavax.

Some hospitals in areas of the country with low vaccination rates are still in crisis mode, but overall the hospitalization rate in the U.S. has dropped, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined new data on Wednesday that found that coronavirus vaccines do not increase the risk of miscarriage or birth defects.

Moderna, Inc. CEO Stephane Bancel said that he believes the COVID-19 pandemic could be over in a year as vaccine production continues, Fox News reports.

 

KANE COUNTY: 115 New Cases, 1 More Death Today

Kane County recorded 115 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death today. Thirteen Kane County residents have died in the past eight days.

The Kane County totals are 65,993 positive cases and 851 deaths since the pandemic began.

Kane County’s seven-day test positivity rate stayed at 3.8% for the fourth straight day.

According to data posted on the Illinois Department of Public Health website, 55.19% of Kane County residents are fully vaccinated.

 

STATE OF ILLINOIS: 3,505 New Cases, 44 Deaths 

The IDPH today reported 3,505 new COVID-19 cases and 44 deaths statewide. To date, 1,608,825 Illinoisans have been confirmed to have contracted the virus, while 24,743 people have died.

The seven-day rolling rate of hospital bed availability in Kane-DuPage Region 8 dropped to 24% today. It is still above the 20 threshold set by the IDPH.

There are 6,973,956 fully-vaccinated Illinoisans, accounting for 54.74% of the population.

 

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