covid-19 vaccine

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has signed off on updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that target the original virus and the omicron subvariants.

In a Georgia city that is home to many refugees, the vaccination rate is higher than in the state, county and surrounding communities of similar socioeconomic status.

The pandemic caused some kids to fall behind on routine immunizations, and Florida has some of the lowest child COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country.

The Biden administration is scrapping plans to offer COVID boosters for people under 50 this summer. Instead officials will push for an earlier release of the next generation boosters in the fall.

Tallahassee pediatrician Dr. Nectar Aintablian says data show that the vaccines are safe. While she recommends most of her patients get the shot, she understands some parents might hesitate.

Among other claims, they say the requirement to wear masks made it “nearly impossible to find a compliant manner and location in which to eat or drink while on shift.”

COVID-19 vaccination rates among children remain low in Florida and nationally. Doctors hope parents take advantage of the summer break to get their kids protected before school starts again in August.

The number has risen over the last two months due to spread of subvariants of the coronavirus. The state has topped 60,000 new cases every week since the week of May 13-19.

CFO Jimmy Patronis removed Dr. Lisa Gwynn from the Florida Healthy Kids Board for expressing concerns about COVID-19 vaccine access in the state for kids younger than 5. She talks about why she's still worried.

About 18 million children under 5 nationwide are eligible for the shots.

As the DeSantis and Biden administrations feud over a reported change in state policy on ordering and distribution, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines begin going into tinier arms this week.

With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for kids from 6 months to 5 years old expected as early as next week, Florida is in the national spotlight. It was the only state not to request the vaccine from the federal government.