Five Mississippi children killed by COVID-19; communities beg for help clarionledger.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from clarionledger.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Children are different in that they don t live in a bubble, said Henderson, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics Mississippi Chapter. They have siblings and parents that they have to interact with, so when you see a pediatric coronavirus case, you re likely to see multiple (infections).
Infections will continue to multiply
With the delta variant, infections will only continue to multiply if students, regardless of vaccination status, go to school mask-free. It is about 50% more contagious than the alpha variant, and has a 50% greater transmissibility rate than the original COVID-19 strain, according to Yale Medicine.
In the spring, if a student was infected with the alpha variant, they may have given it to one or two classmates, Oxford pediatrician Tanya Fitts said. But a student infected with the delta variant will transmit the virus to a large portion of classmates.
View Comments
State health department officials announced Thursday during a news conference that children between the ages of 12 and 15 can sign up to get the Pfizer vaccine to protect against COVID-19 starting at 6 p.m.
The decision comes one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention greenlighted Pfizer s emergency use for them. We know that we ve had thousands and thousands of infections in this age group, State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said during the Thursday news conference. The evidence shows this vaccine is safe and effective.
Jim Craig, senior deputy and director of health protection, listed several drive-thru, walk-in and pop-up Pfizer sites available to people 12 and older seeking the vaccine. A parent must accompany their child and sign a consent form before their child receives the shot, Craig said.