FDA expected to authorize vaccine for kids within hours
ABC News expects the FDA to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Friday, according to people familiar with the agency’s planning.
The exact timing of the announcement is not yet known.
Bridgette Melo, 5, holds the hand of her father, Jim Melo, during her inoculation of one of two reduced doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a trial at Duke University in Durham, N.C., Sept. 28, 2021.
Shawn Rocco/Duke University via Reuters
But no vaccinations will start until the CDC director signs off. A hearing with the CDC’s independent advisory board is set for Nov. 2; the director is likely to sign off on the panel's recommendations that evening, with vaccinations likely beginning Nov. 3.
-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss
Oct 29, 2021, 11:12 AM EDT
NYPD 80% vaccinated after administering over 1,000 shots Thursday
New York City's police department is 80% vaccinated after administering more than 1,000 shots on Thursday.
Nearly all municipal employees, including police officers, sanitation workers and firefighters, have until 5 p.m. Friday to submit proof of receiving at least one dose of vaccine. Those who don't get vaccinated will be placed on unpaid leave, starting Monday, for at least 30 days, and their future employment will be resolved in negotiations with individual labor unions.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea called reports of nearly half unvaccinated precincts “certainly outdated” and said he's more concerned about filling “individual shifts” than staffing precincts.
"We will move resources around. We have had significant increase in people getting vaccinated in the past three days, and that’s the good news," Shea said on Channel 5. "New Yorkers should not, should not, be worried about this."
The FDNY's vaccination rate stands at 71%. The city's firefighters' unions organized an anti-vaccine mandate rally on Thursday.
New York City Fire Department union members, municipal workers and others demonstrate during a protest against the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandates in New York City, Oct. 28, 2021.
Mike Segar/Reuters
-ABC News' Mark Crudele, Aaron Katersky, Meredith Ferrell
Oct 29, 2021, 10:18 AM EDT
Montana, Idaho leading nation in death rates
In recent weeks, cases have been creeping up in Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont and Washington, according to federal data.
Joyce Johnson-Albert receives an antibody infusion while lying on a bed in a trauma room at the Upper Tanana Health Center, after testing positive for COVID-19, Sept. 22, 2021, in Tok, Alaska.
Rick Bowmer/AP
The nation's daily death average has dropped by about 36.3% in the last month, but it remains persistently high, around 1,150 new deaths reported each day.
Montana currently has the country's highest death rate, followed by Idaho and West Virginia, according to federal data.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Oct 28, 2021, 12:44 PM EDT
Florida files lawsuit against Biden administration over vaccine mandate for federal contractors
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, arguing that the vaccine mandate for federal contractors is "unconstitutional."
"Florida companies, public and private, receive millions of dollars in federal contracts annually and will be negatively impacted by the unlawful requirements," a statement from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said.
DeSantis said in a statement, "The federal government is exceeding their power and it is important for us to take a stand because in Florida we believe these are choices based on individual circumstances.”
