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National news
The Week Junior • November 12, 2021
O
n November 2, an advisory panel of the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC, the US health agency)
recommended the Covid-19 vaccine for children
ages 5 to 11. Following fi nal approval from the CDC,
which was expected as The Week Junior went to
press, the vaccine will be made available to about
28 million children who are eligible to receive it.What happened before this week?
On October 29, the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA, the US agency that monitors the safety
of food and medicine) announced that it had
authorized emergency use of the vaccine for kids
ages 5 to 11. It said the vaccine, made by Pfi zer in
partnership with BioNTech, was safe and about
90% eff ective at preventing Covid-19 for this agegroup. In studies, the most common side eff ects
children experienced from the vaccine were arm
pain and fatigue, the same as for older age groups.What is happening now?
The Biden administration, which secured vaccine
doses from Pfi zer, is making them available to
healthcare providers. The vials (containers) for
young children have orange caps to distinguish
them from the purple caps on vials for other age
groups. The dosage for children is 33% of the
amount given to other age groups (10 micrograms
compared to 30 micrograms). As with other
people, a second dose will be given 21 or more
days later. A parent or guardian’s approval is
required for children to be vaccinated.How have people reacted?
Pediatricians welcomed the news. “Sharing this
lifesaving vaccine with our children is a huge
step forward,” said Dr. Lee Savio Beers, president
of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents’
reactions were mixed. One nationwide survey
found that 27% of parents of children ages 5 to
11 were eager for their child to be vaccinated,
33% said they would wait and see, and 30% said
they would not get the vaccine for their child.What will happen next?
With the CDC expected to sign off on the vaccine,
children could get it within days. It will be available
through pediatricians, hospitals, pharmacies, and
community health centers.WORD WEEK
OF
THEThe name of the koala is borrowed from the
language of Dharug, an Australian
Aboriginal language. The animal is also
known as the koala bear, even though
koalas are not related to bears. When
explorers encountered koalas in the 18th
century, they thought
the koalas looked like
small, gray bears.KOALA
THE WEEK IN HISTORY
On November 7, 1989, Douglas L. Wilder
became the fi rst Black person to be
elected a US governor (a state’s top
leader), by the state of Virginia. Wilder,
the grandson of a former enslaved person,
served as Virginia’s governor from 1990
to 1994. Upon winning, Wilder said about
breaking racial barriers, ”If it takes place
in Virginia, it can take place anywhere.”November 7, 1989
First Black person elected governorVaccine cleared for kids ages 5 to 11
Douglas
L. WilderThe children’s dose of
the Covid-19 vaccine
has an orange cap.The US drug company Merck
has agreed to sell its Covid-
medicine at a low cost to 105
developing nations, mostly in
Africa and Asia. Molnupiravir
could reduce hospitalizations and
deaths caused by the virus by 50%.
The medicine could be approved
by the FDA for emergency use in
the US by December.DID YOU Help for developing nations
KNOW?
The Centers for Disease
Control is based in Atlanta,
Georgia, and has workers
in all 50 states.