Mike Stobbe
The Associated Press
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Past articles by Mike:
US kindergarten vaccination rate dropped again, data shows
Vaccination rates for U.S. kindergarteners are down again, and federal officials are launching a new campaign to try to bring them up. Usually, 94% to 95% of kindergarteners nationally are vaccinated against measles, tetanus, and certain other diseases. The vaccination rates dropped below 94% in the 2020-2021 school year. A new study finds they dropped again in the 2021-2022 school year, to… → Read More
CDC drops quarantine, distancing recommendations for COVID
The nation’s top public health agency is relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines and dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said Thursday that people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others. The changes come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the… → Read More
New York reports 1st US polio case in nearly a decade
New York health officials are reporting the first U.S. case of polio in nearly a decade. Officials said the Rockland County resident is an unvaccinated young adult who developed paralysis. The person is no longer deemed contagious, but investigators are trying to figure out whether other people were exposed to the virus. State health officials scheduled polio vaccination clinics as part of the… → Read More
US opens COVID vaccine to little kids; shots begin this week
While the Food and Drug Administration approves vaccines, it's the CDC that decides who should get them. The shots offer young children protection from hospitalization, death and possible long-term complications that are still not clearly understood, the CDC's advisory panel said. The government has already been gearing up for the vaccine expansion, with millions of doses ordered for… → Read More
FDA advisers move COVID-19 shots closer for kids under 5
"This is a long-awaited vaccine," said one panel member, Dr. Jay Portnoy of Children's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. "There are so many parents who are absolutely desperate to get this vaccine and I think we owe it to them to give them a choice to have the vaccine if they want to." Dr. Peter Marks, FDA's vaccine chief, opened the meeting with data showing a "quite troubling surge'' in young… → Read More
Officials: Millions of COVID-19 shots ordered for youngest
It's not clear how popular the shots will be. A recent survey suggests only 1 in 5 parents of young children would get their kids vaccinated right away. And public health officials have been disappointed at how many older U.S. children, who have been eligible for shots for months, have yet to be vaccinated: Less than one-third of kids ages 5 to 11 have gotten the two recommended doses, according… → Read More
CDC estimates 3 in 4 kids have had coronavirus infections
The news came as Pfizer sought permission to offer a booster dose to kids ages 5 to 11, just like people 12 and older can get. In the CDC report, the most striking increase was in children. The percentage of those 17 and under with antibodies rose from about 45% in December to about 75% in February. The older people were, the less likely they had evidence of past infections. That may be because… → Read More
CDC: Some people should wait longer for 2nd COVID shot
The change won't affect many people, coming 14 months after the beginning of the U.S. vaccination campaign. The CDC says 73% of people age 12 and older already have gotten two doses of vaccine. Also, the suggestion to wait up to two months doesn't apply to all. The original, shorter interval is still recommended for people with weakened immune systems; people 65 and older; and anyone who needs… → Read More
Booster shots needed against omicron, CDC studies show
It found vaccine effectiveness was best after three doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines in preventing COVID-19-associated emergency department and urgent care visits. Protection dropped from 94% during the delta wave to 82% during the omicron wave. Protection from just two doses was lower, especially if six months had passed since the second dose. Officials have stressed the goal of… → Read More
US urges COVID boosters starting at age 12 to fight omicron
Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19, including omicron - what experts say is their most important benefit. But the newest mutant can slip past a layer of the vaccines' protection to cause milder infections. Studies show a booster dose at least temporarily revs up virus-fighting antibodies to levels that offer the best chance at avoiding… → Read More
CDC urges 'up to date' shots; no 'fully vaccinated' change
"Individuals are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they've received their primary series," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. "That definition is not changing." The CDC instead posted information for Americans to more easily determine their eligibility for booster doses so as to remain up to date with their COVID-19 shots. "We are now… → Read More
CDC posts rationale for shorter isolation, quarantine
CDC officials previously said the changes were in keeping with evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop. Some experts have questioned how the new recommendations were crafted and why they were changed amid a spike in cases driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant. Some also expressed dismay that the… → Read More
CDC recommends shorter COVID isolation, quarantine for all
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the country is about to see a lot of omicron cases. "Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact many are going to be asymptomatic," she told The Associated Press on Monday. "We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science." Last week, the agency loosened rules that… → Read More
Omicron sweeps across nation, now 73% of US COVID-19 cases
Scientists in Africa first sounded the alarm about omicron less than a month ago and on Nov. 26 the World Health Organization designated it as a "variant of concern." The mutant has since shown up in about 90 countries. Much about the omicron variant remains unknown, including whether it causes more or less severe illness. Early studies suggest the vaccinated will need a booster shot for the… → Read More
CDC panel recommends Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over J&J shot
But the CDC's advisers said Thursday that it was time to recognize a lot has changed since vaccines began rolling out a year ago. More than 200 million Americans are considered fully vaccinated, including about 16 million who got the J&J shot. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. A government advisory panel is meeting Thursday to determine if any restrictions are… → Read More
US overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say
Experts believe the top drivers of overdose deaths are the growing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the illicit drug supply and the COVID-19 pandemic, which left many drug users socially isolated and unable to get treatment or other support. The number is "devastating," said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University expert on drug abuse issues. "It's a magnitude of overdose death that we haven't… → Read More
Boosters for all adults in US closer with panel meeting set
Pfizer asked U.S. regulators last week to allow boosters of its COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 18 or older. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to sign off on Pfizer's application before the advisory panel meets Friday. The final step - CDC's official recommendation - could come soon after the meeting. The move would greatly expand who is eligible. Boosters are now recommended for people… → Read More
'Strong' start to kids vaccine campaign, but challenges loom
The estimated increase in vaccinations in elementary school age children appears similar to a jump seen in May, when adolescents ages 12 to 15 became eligible for shots. Now nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and physicians' offices are offering the doses to younger kids, and the Biden administration estimates that by the end of Wednesday more than 900,000 of the kid doses will have been given.… → Read More
CDC panel debates: Should all school kids get COVID vaccine?
She said while the risk of severe disease and death is lower in young children than adults, it is real - and that COVID-19 has had a profound social, mental health and educational impact on youngsters, including widening disparities in learning. "There are children in the second grade who have never experienced a normal school year," Walensky said. "Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us… → Read More
COVID-19 vaccine: CDC panel backs expanded booster rollout
She called it "priceless" to be able to choose a different kind for the booster if, for example, someone might be at risk for a rare side effect from a specific vaccine. There still are restrictions on who qualifies and when for a booster. Starting six months past their last Pfizer vaccination, people are urged to get a booster if they're 65 or older, nursing home residents, or at least 50 and… → Read More