Public Health

Even if lots of children have had Covid, they’ll still benefit from the vaccine, experts say

A startling statistic emerged as advisers to the Food and Drug Administration debated use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in ages 5 to 11 last week. According to one federal scientist, by June an estimated 42 percent of these children had already been infected with the coronavirus.

That figure was much higher than anyone expected. But the estimate, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, might have overstated the percentage of children who were infected, several experts said in interviews. Among other flaws, the percentage was based on tests known to have a high rate of “false positives” — signaling the presence of antibodies where there were none.

Sweden's pandemic response faulted as too slow, unprepared COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s response to the spread of coronavirus was too slow and its preparations to handle a pandemic were insufficient, a stinging official report concluded Friday. The Scandinavian country has stood out among European nations for its comparatively hands-off response to the pandemic, emphasizing individual responsibility and choices instead of mandated government health measures. AP NEWS

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Covid-19 infections and deaths are dropping across Latin America Covid-19 is slowly retreating across most of North, Central and South America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. NBC News

BRASILIA — Covid-19 is slowly retreating across most of North, Central and South America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, reporting that last week the continent’s death and infection figures were the lowest in over a year.