The United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) plans to approve the 3rd dose of the coronavirus vaccine for some Americans with weakened immune systems. According to some news agencies, the FDA will probably authorize the 3rd shot of either the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine as early as Thursday. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)’s advisory panel will meet Friday to discuss COVID-19 vaccination shots for some Americans with compromised immune systems.
THIRD SHOT’S THE CHARM? The FDA is considering approval for a third booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, and a local doctor offers his advice on who should consider getting it. This morning, 4:30-7:00am, watch WPTV. pic.twitter.com/WDEpmAxgSm
— WPTV (@WPTV) August 13, 2021
Scientists are discussing whether to offer extra shots of coronavirus vaccines to immunocompromised Americans to some extent, such as cancer patients or organ transplant beneficiaries. For example, the latest research by Johns Hopkins University found that several transplant patients had little to no antibody defenses against the virus after receiving the complete two shots of vaccine, but a 3rd dose improved their immune system.
Is it safe to Vaccinate Pregnant Women?
Between three million and nine million American people have weak immune systems, either because of some disease or due to medications they take. In a recent announcement, the CDC is suggesting that it is safe to give vaccination doses to all pregnant women to stay immune against the virus. Furthermore, the health agency issued the advice on Wednesday after releasing statistics that showed pregnant women faced no additional risk of miscarriage after taking at least one dose of a vaccine.
Source: Web
The head of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, stated that it is not urgent to increase vaccinations as the country faces the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 and sees severe consequences from the virus among them unvaccinated pregnant women. Only twenty-three percent of pregnant women in the United States received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. However, on Wednesday, California became the first American state that announced requiring teachers and other school staff members to either receive vaccination shots or undergo proper weekly testing.
Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, said the new directive applies to both private and public schools all over the state. Moreover, the order is also applicable for all teacher’s aides, cafeteria, volunteers, and bus drivers. E. Toby Boyd, the head of the California Teachers Association, supported the new order of the governor. Last week, the head of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, said during a televised interview that he thinks they need to work with their bosses, not opposing them, on vaccination mandates.
Canadian Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Passport
On Wednesday, the Canadian government announced that the immigration department of the country was working to develop a digital coronavirus vaccine passport for Canadian people to use for international travel. Marco Mendicino, the Canadian Immigration Minister, said that the national administration in Ottawa is working in collaboration with provincial governments and territories to make available digital COVID-19 passports in the next few months. Further, he said that the vaccine passport is a major move in ensuring that the Canadian people have official documents for their safe international journeys.
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