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State preps to get young children COVID vaccinated

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Upon authorization from the Centers for Disease Control, Minnesota’s health care providers will be ready to vaccinate children 6 months and older against COVID-19, according to Gov. Tim Walz. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel voted to recommend vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for that age group on Wednesday. Providers cannot vaccinate these children until the Centers for Disease Control issue vaccination recommendations, which could happen this weekend. Following CDC’s recommendations, the federal government will ship vaccine doses to providers ...

Florida only state not preordering toddler COVID-19 vaccines

MIAMI (AP) — Florida is the only state that hasn't preordered COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers in anticipation of their final approval by the federal government, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he won't facilitate their distribution, though he said they'll be available to those who want them. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, who confirmed Florida's outlier status on Thursday, said not preordering the vaccines could mean delaying their availability in children's hospitals and other facilities that have relied on state distribution of the shots. Florida officials ...

Fauci tests positive for virus, has mild COVID-19 symptoms

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America's pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 81-year-old Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, was experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institutes of Health. Fauci has not recently been in close contact with President Joe Biden or other senior government officials. He tested positive on a rapid antigen test. He is following public health guidelines and his doctor's advice, and will return to work at the ...

Psychologist offers coping tips for pandemic limbo, ‘panger’

MANKATO — Approaching two-and-a-half years of enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have more questions than answers, as new COVID variants emerge and case counts continue to fluctuate. Without a definitive answer as to what the next phase of the pandemic will look like, mental fatigue has set in for many during this COVID limbo, as has anxiety, depression and persistent anger. "It's been well over two years since the start of the pandemic, and of course, people are frustrated and anxious," said Patrick Bigaouette, M.D., a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic Health System in ...

US failed to stop fraud in COVID loan program, Clyburn says

The U.S. failed to take basic steps at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to prevent fraud in a federal aid program intended to help small businesses, depleting the funds and making people more vulnerable to identity theft, the chairman of a House panel examining the payouts said Tuesday. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn blamed the Trump administration for the problems in the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration, amid revelations that as much as 20% of the money — tens of billions of dollars — may have been awarded to ...

US: Pfizer COVID-19 appears effective for kids under 5

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials said Sunday that kid-sized doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5, a key step toward a long-awaited decision to begin vaccinating the youngest American children. The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the Pfizer shot ahead of a Wednesday meeting where outside experts will vote on whether the shots are ready for the nation's 18 million babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Kids under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S. Late last week the FDA ...