Now that a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is authorized for children ages 5 to 11 years, state regulators—along with parents, pediatricians, and public health officials—are contemplating when and if the shots should become mandatory for children. All 50 US states have requirements for school-age children to be immunized against other diseases such as polio, chickenpox, and measles. The nation’s second-largest school district, Los Angeles Unified School District in California, already has said children aged 12 and older must be vaccinated by mid-December to continue in-person learning, and several other jurisdictions and states have plans to make SARS-CoV-2 vaccination mandatory for children and adolescents to attend school as soon as the FDA grants a vaccine full approval for those age groups.
Sources and believers of misinformation range from high-profile NFL players to religious institutions, and efforts to combat vaccine hesitancy are often hodgepodge with unclear or mixed efficacy. According to new findings from the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, 78% of adults have heard at least 1 of 8 different false statements about COVID-19 and believe it to be true or are uncertain if the statement is true or false. Only 22% did not believe any of the 8 false statements, the survey found. Belief in misinformation was associated with unvaccinated status, identification as Republican, rural residency, lack of a college degree, and age under 50 years. Belief in misinformation also was correlated with individuals who listed One America News, Fox News, or Newsmax as their trusted news source. In an effort “to understand, identify, and stop misinformation, and help others do the same,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a community toolkit for the general public this morning. Dr. Murthy previously identified COVID-19 misinformation as a threat to public health, and he hopes health professionals, faith leaders, teachers, parents, and others will use the new toolkit to engage in in-person conversations to dispel myths and rumors, especially regarding vaccination. In a new analysis from the Center for Health Security, its estimated that COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and disinformation costs an estimated $50 to $300 million each day.
CSSE is reporting 46,679,405 positive cases in the U.S. and 757,093 deaths. DOH reported for the week ending November 4, 3,657,775 confirmed cases in Florida with 60,334 deaths. In Florida, 13,997,374 people have been vaccinated or 73% of the population over 12.
