Indiana coronavirus and vaccine updates for Saturday, Jan. 8 2021

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Worldwide, there have been more than 303.23 million confirmed cases of coronavirus with more than 5.48 million deaths and more than 9.38 billion doses of vaccines administered worldwide.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more serious illnesses such as pneumonia or death.

Lawyers for tennis star Novak Djokovic have presented court documents in his challenge against deportation from Australia showing that he contracted COVID-19 in mid-December.

Djokovic, ranked number one, was denied entry at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday night after the Australian Border Force canceled his visa for failing to meet the entry requirement that all non-citizens be fully vaccinated. against COVID-19.

Djokovic received a medical exemption on January 1 due to his recent infection and was endorsed by the Victorian state government and Australian Open organizers based on information he provided to two independent medical panels.

Djokovic is in an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne preparing for his challenge in Federal Circuit Court on Monday.

Among 102 children ages 12 to 18 who were hospitalized with the condition, none who had received two Pfizer injections at least 28 days previously required ventilators or other advanced life support. In contrast, 40% of unvaccinated children required such treatment.

The condition, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, causes symptoms that may include persistent fever, abdominal pain, and skin rashes. Most children recover, but 55 deaths have been reported.

The report comes as hospitalizations of American children under the age of 5 with COVID-19 soared in recent weeks to their highest level since the pandemic began, according to government data released Friday on the only age group still you are not eligible for the vaccine.

Since mid-December, with the highly contagious omicron variant raging across the country, the hospitalization rate for these younger children has risen to more than 4 in 100,000 children, compared to 2.5 in 100,000.

The rate among children ages 5 to 17 is about 1 in 100,000, according to CDC data, drawn from more than 250 hospitals in 14 states.

U.S. regulators on Friday shortened the time people who received Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have to wait for a booster to five months instead of six.

The Moderna two-dose vaccine is available to Americans 18 years of age and older. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on Friday means Moderna recipients are eligible for a booster after at least five months have passed since their last injection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed.

That’s in line with the new recommendations for recipients of the Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer’s starter vaccines are available to anyone 5 years of age and older. But only Pfizer recipients age 12 and older are eligible for the boosters, and earlier this week US health authorities said they can receive one five months after their last injection.

In a statement, the FDA’s chief of vaccines, Dr. Peter Marks, said that vaccination is “our best defense against COVID-19” and said a shorter wait for a booster can help as the country battles a increased highly contagious omicron variant.

A booster after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is already recommended two months later.

The Indianapolis Public Library announced Friday that it will cancel all in-branch library programs and community meeting room reservations beginning Monday, January 10, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.