COVID-19 Update | June 1, 2021

Staff Contact: Mat Reidhead or Jackie Gatz

On May 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15. Since that time, more than 42,000 doses have been administered to Missouri children of the same age range for a vaccine initiation rate of 13.4% compared to 52.1% of the adult population as of June 1. Evaluating the daily uptake of vaccines among this age group reveals dwindling demand among parents in inoculating their children against COVID-19, which will make the achievement of herd immunity more difficult in Missouri. During the first week of eligibility, a daily average of 3,188 vaccines were administered to children ages 12 to 15 in Missouri; the following week, the daily average dropped to 2,170; and last week, which may have been affected by the holiday weekend, only 775 doses were administered each day on average. At that rate, 75% coverage for children ages 12 to 15 in Missouri would not be achieved until February 2022.

Considering the novelty of both the virus and the vaccines, the question of vaccinating children is understandably a difficult decision for parents to make. This bears out in national polling data that suggest more than half of parents intend to have their children vaccinated, but plan to wait and see. There are a variety of resources available from trusted institutions that are designed to help parents with the decision to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. In addition to reviewing the facts surrounding the clinical trials and rollout to younger Americans thus far, parents also should consult with their child’s pediatrician to assist in arriving at a decision.

Staff Contact: Jane Drummond

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its COVID-19 vaccine technical assistance questions and answers for employers to include guidance permitting employee vaccination mandates and providing incentives for vaccination.

Staff Contact: Keri Barclay

An increase in cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported in the U.S. after receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is aware of these reports, which are rare given the number of vaccine doses administered. In response to this increase, the CDC published clinical considerations, as well as resources for the public that can be utilized for patient education.

Staff Contact: Kara Amann-Kale

The Health Center Association of Nebraska and the Health Resources and Services Administration is offering a COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence webinar series. Part two of the series takes place at 2:30 p.m. CDT Thursday, June 3, and will highlight COVID-19 variants and the potential impact they may have on COVID-19 vaccine response. Approaches to address vaccine hesitancy will be discussed, including the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Registration is required.

Staff Contact: Carissa Van Hunnik

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services updated the COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs, which included changes to existing data measures that will become optional as of Thursday, June 10. According to messages released from HHS, the submission of the newly optional data fields will not be included in the evaluation of compliance, and hospitals are welcome to implement these changes before the June 10 implementation date without any penalty.

Staff Contact: Keri Barclay or Stacie Hollis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending that health care personnel and facilities transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies, such as using disposable respirators not approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. This recommendation is based on the increase of supply in appropriate masking options. This announcement follows the April 9 letter in which the FDA recommended a transition away from decontamination or bioburden-reduction systems for cleaning and disinfecting disposable respirators, which were being reused by health care personnel.

Staff Contact: Keri Barclay

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its definition of high risk to include additional medical conditions and factors associated with increased risk for progression to severe COVID-19. This update applies to the emergency use authorizations for REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab), and bamlanivimab and etesevimab. The fact sheets for each EUA have been updated to reflect the changes.

• Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers for Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab
• Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers for REGEN-COV (casirivimab with imdevimab)