(NEW YORK) — More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19, but recent data shows that deaths and severe disease are not increasing with the same vigor despite a surge in infections.
The U.S. has reported more than 700,000 new cases in the last week, but experts say totals are likely significantly undercounted as states shutter public testing sites and more Americans use at-home COVID-19 tests.
The number of virus-positive patients currently receiving care in hospitals across the country remains around 30,000 Americans, and on average, more than 4,200 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day.
Although the number of people requiring hospitalization has doubled in the last two months, the total has plateaued in recent weeks, rather than surging significantly as they did in early January, when there were more than 160,000 patients receiving care.
Thus, even with infection rates surging, hospitalization and death rates have not seen a substantial increase, which experts say is likely the result of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots blunting the impact of severe disease.
“What has been remarkable in the latest increase in infections we’re seeing is how steady serious illness and particularly deaths are eight weeks into this,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, told The Associated Press late last month. “COVID-19 is no longer the killer that it was even a year ago.”
Approximately 300 COVID-19-related deaths are currently reported each day, and about 1,800 Americans have been reported lost to the virus in the last week.
In the Northeast, which experienced a significant viral surge throughout the spring, there has yet to be a subsequent increase in COVID-19 deaths.
Even with undercounting, death rates are currently nowhere near where they stood at their peak in January 2021, when there were more than 3,400 deaths reported each day, or during the omicron peak in February, when the U.S. was reporting about 2,700 deaths every day.
Although an ABC News analysis of federal data shows that there has been an increase in breakthrough infections and deaths, the unvaccinated still remain at higher risk for severe disease compared to the vaccinated and boosted.
In April, unvaccinated adults were six times more likely to die of COVID-19 compared to vaccinated individuals and, in May, two times more likely to test positive, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Similarly, among Americans over the age of 50, the unvaccinated had a risk of dying that was 42 times higher than people who had been fully vaccinated and double boosted.
Even with encouraging news, health experts stressed that every death is still a tragedy, and Americans must continue to consider ways to protect themselves and the most vulnerable as they learn to live with the virus.
“We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these numbers,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week. “There is no acceptable level of deaths from COVID-19 when we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat this disease.”
(NEW YORK) — The central U.S. is facing extreme heat on Monday, with temperatures forecast to skyrocket to 106 degrees in Minneapolis, 104 in Omaha, 104 in Dallas and 103 in Houston.
The sweltering conditions will then move east, with temperatures forecast to reach 99 in New Orleans and 98 in Raleigh on Wednesday.
Here are tips to stay safe from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Wear sunscreen
Take precautions to prevent sunburn, which can make you dehydrated and affect your ability to cool down.
Use sunscreen that’s SPF 15 or higher 30 minutes before going outside. Sunscreens that say “broad spectrum” or “UVA/UVB protection” are best.
Stay hydrated
Drink extra fluids, and don’t wait until you’re thirsty.
Avoid very sugary drinks and alcohol, which can cause your body to lose more fluid, and be wary of extra-cold drinks that may cause stomach cramps.
Avoiding hot and heavy meals also can reduce your body’s overall temperature.
Limit time outside
Cut down on exercise during heat waves and rest often and in shady areas.
Try to limit your time outside to when it is cooler, like in the early morning and evening.
Check the car
Never leave children in a parked car — even if windows are cracked open.
Monitor high-risk loved ones
Anyone can suffer from heat-related illness at any time, but these people are at greater risk:
— Babies and young children
— Overweight people
— Those 65 years old or older
— People who overexert during work or exercise
— Those who suffer from heart disease or high blood pressure and those who take certain medications, including for depression, insomnia or poor circulation
Watch for signs of illness
Symptoms of heat stroke include:
— Body temperature of 103 degrees or higher
— Hot, red, dry or damp skin
— Fast, strong pulse
— Headache
— Dizziness
— Nausea
— Confusion
— Passing out
— No longer sweating
Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:
— Heavy sweating
— Cold, pale, clammy skin
— Fast, weak pulse
— Nausea or vomiting
— Muscle cramps
— Feeling tired or weak
— Headache
— Passing out
If someone shows symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, call 911, move them somewhere cooler and use towels to cool down their body.
Don’t forget about your furry friends!
Here are some tips from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for how to keep your pets safe in the heat: provide plenty of fresh water so they don’t get dehydrated; don’t over-exercise pets; never leave pets alone in a parked car; and watch for symptoms of overheating, which include excessive panting, difficulty breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate and drooling.
Animals with flat faces, like pugs, can’t pant as well and are more at risk of heat stroke. These pets, as well as older and overweight pets, should be kept inside as much as possible.
(NEW YORK) — A panel of advisers at the Centers for Disease Control have greenlit the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for kids as young as 6 months old, finding them both safe and effective.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky issued a recommendation for how doctors, nurses and pharmacists should administer the shots on Saturday.
The CDC panel’s review and joint support for the vaccines comes after the FDA’s committee of independent experts also voted to recommend the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday, and the FDA authorized the vaccines on Friday.
Vaccines will start shipping out over the weekend and are on track to arrive as soon as Monday, a spokesperson with the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Kids could begin to get their shots Monday if the CDC director signs off, but given the federal holiday in honor of Juneteenth, some offices may be closed and it’s more likely that shots ramp up starting on Tuesday.
“As doses are delivered, parents will be able to start scheduling vaccinations for their youngest kids as early as next week, with appointments ramping up over the coming days and weeks,” President Joe Biden said in a statement applauding the news on Friday.
Ten million doses were made available by the federal government to states for pre-ordering over the last few weeks. Of those, 3.8 million doses have been ordered so far, according to HHS, including 2.5 million Pfizer doses, about half of the doses available, and 1.3 million Moderna doses, about a quarter of the doses made available.
Officials cautioned that preordering is generally slow when a new age group becomes eligible for shots as doctors and clinics get their vaccine programs up and running, but they expected orders to ramp up in the coming weeks.
Both Pfizer and Moderna’s CEOs said in statements they’re proud to finally be able to offer a vaccine option for parents of the youngest kids.
“Children need to live highly social lives to develop and flourish. With this authorization, caregivers for young children ages 6 months through 5 years of age finally have a way to safeguard against COVID risks in classroom and daycare settings,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna.
Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said they are “grateful” to those who enrolled children in the clinical trial to make the authorization possible.
And while the vaccines are both valuable options for COVID protection, some parents have struggled to decide which vaccine would be best for their child.
The nation’s leading health officials said Friday they’d give their kids whichever shot was available first. Dr. Robert Califf, the FDA commissioner, said he has two grandchildren under 5: “They’ll get the first one that’s available,” he said.
“The differences between the two are so much less than the fundamental benefit to risk balance,” he said in a press conference.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said the same but acknowledged the nuances that particularly attentive parents might consider.
“It may be that the Moderna vaccine brings an immune response slightly more rapidly. On the other hand, the three-dose Pfizer regiment may also bring a greater immune response after the third dose, and there are some subtle differences in the safety profile,” Marks said.
“But again, these are relatively subtle, and unless you really want to dive into the subtlety, to a first approximation the correct answer here is whatever vaccine your health care provider pediatrician has, that’s what I would give my child,” Marks said.
Data from Moderna, which is a two-shot series, showed its vaccine was about 40% to 50% effective at preventing mild infections after both shots.
But representatives for Moderna said they expected a third shot, or booster, would be available to kids in the coming months — either the current vaccine, or the omicron-specific vaccine the company is developing for the fall — which could increase efficacy.
Pfizer’s vaccine is one-tenth the size of the adult dose, given as a three-shot series.
The company’s early data showed it was 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19. But that protection largely didn’t kick in until the third shot — the data showed very minimal protection after doses one and two.
Marks also cautioned that the data from Pfizer was based on a much smaller group of children and that the FDA was waiting to see more follow-up data to know for sure what the efficacy rate was — though they remained confident there would be no concerns based on other data.
He urged parents to get their kids vaccinated regardless of past COVID infections, detailing new studies that showed the omicron variant in particular didn’t offer the same lasting immunity after infection as the vaccine does, and said parents should not wait for the fall, when there could be a new-and-improved vaccine, because getting vaccinated now would build up “foundational immunity.”
“I would strongly recommend that with the availability of this primary series, which provides excellent foundational immunity against a broad range of COVID-19 variants, that I would have children start this right now. And if it turns out that there is a very major change in strains that needs to occur in the fall, we will adjust and make sure that there is an option available for the youngest children and throughout the pediatric age range as appropriate,” Marks said.
“But for right now, this is something where we would recommend that people start this now because it will provide that foundational level of immunity.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for kids as young as six months old, finding them both safe and effective.
“Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age. As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a press release Friday.
This comes after the FDA’s committee of independent experts voted to recommend the Moderna vaccine for kids under 6, which is a two-dose vaccine, and the Pfizer vaccine for kids under 5, which is a three-dose vaccine, on Wednesday. Both votes were unanimous.
The final step in the process is a recommendation from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, after which shots can be administered in doctors’ offices, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other locations.
The FDA authorization means the federal government can begin shipping doses out to states to get ready to go in arms.
“Those trusted with the care of children can have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of these COVID-19 vaccines and can be assured that the agency was thorough in its evaluation of the data,” Califf said in the Friday statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida was the first state to advise against vaccinating healthy kids for COVID-19.
Florida was the only state in the U.S. that didn’t preorder any COVID-19 vaccines for young children, federal officials said Thursday.
The Florida Department of Health did not want to be involved in a “convoluted vaccine distribution process,” a representative from the department told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Florida Department of Health (Department) has made it clear to the federal government that states do not need to be involved in the convoluted vaccine distribution process, especially when the federal government has a track record of developing inconsistent and unsustainable COVID-19 policies,” the representative said.
In March, the state’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, announced Florida would become the first state to officially advise against vaccinating healthy children for COVID-19.
“Already the rates were low. So, we’re kind of scraping at the bottom of the barrel particularly with healthy kids, in terms of actually being able to quantify with any accuracy and any confidence, the infinite potential of benefit,” Ladapo said at the time.
The representative for the state health department reiterated the health department still does not recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for all children.
“It is also no surprise we chose not to participate in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when the Department does not recommend it for all children,” the representative wrote.
Doctors will be able to order vaccines as they are needed, the department said. However, the representative noted that there are currently no orders in the Department’s ordering system for the COVID-19 vaccine for these young kids.
On Thursday, the White House quickly pushed back on Florida’s decision not to order any shots for young children.
“By being the only state — this is Florida — not preordering, which means that pediatricians, for example, in Florida will not have immediate ready access to vaccines, some pharmacies and community health centers in the state get access through federal distribution channels, but those options are limited for parents. We encouraged Florida on several occasions to order vaccines … and we will continue to do so,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Jean-Pierre said the White House has been working with states for “some time” to ensure that if the vaccines are authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the doses will be “shipped to places like pediatricians and children’s hospitals, places where parents would get health care for their youngest or as quickly as possible.”
With Florida not preordering vaccines, it will make it more difficult for parents to get a hold of vaccines for their young children, Jean-Pierre added.
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, concurred, adding that access to the shots will be critical to uptake.
“Vaccines access and confidence are tightly linked. If you make it harder for parents to vaccinate their kids, it will reduce the likelihood they will, especially if on the fence. By not making preorders available to Florida vaccination clinics, you are doing a disservice to so many families who have waited over two years to vaccinate their youngest kids,” Brownstein said.
Issues of equity may also be exacerbated, as some lower-income families may have a harder gaining access to the shots, Brownstein said.
“This rollout was already going to be the most challenging yet, especially with pharmacies playing a more limited role. By removing the state from the ordering equation, you are shifting a cumbersome process to pediatric frontline health care that is already stretched way too thin,” Brownstein added. “More challenging access will unfortunately only serve to exacerbate health disparities. Minority and low-income communities that already have a more challenging time accessing vaccines will have less options available.”
A committee of advisors to the FDA voted on Wednesday to recommend the Moderna vaccine for children under 6, which is a two-dose vaccine, and the Pfizer vaccine for kids under 5, which is a three-dose vaccine.
If FDA leadership chooses to officially authorize the vaccines, the administration can start shipping out vaccines to states. On Friday and Saturday, the CDC’s advisers will meet to review the data on both vaccines for children.
Thus far, states have preordered 3.8 million doses of vaccines for the youngest children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — COVID-19 vaccinations for kids under age 5 could be available as early next week after an advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted Wednesday to recommend authorization for both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines.
Before shots can be administered to kids, the FDA must issue its official authorization, which could happen within days.
This Friday and Saturday, an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet and then present its recommendation to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who gives the final green light.
At the start of the pandemic, scientists studied vaccines in adults first because they have a higher risk of dying of COVID-19. That means parents of children under the age of 5 have waited over two years, since the start of the pandemic, for a COVID-19 vaccine for their kids.
Now that the vaccine is one step closer to being available, parents may have questions about everything from which vaccine and how many doses their child should receive to how safe and effective the vaccines are.
Here are answers from pediatricians across the country to common questions from parents.
1. Which vaccine should my child get, Pfizer or Moderna?
The short answer is that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are safe and good options for kids under 5, pediatricians say.
“Basically, they’re both very good choices,” Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics at Stanford University and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, told ABC News. “It’s always a great idea to have a choice for vaccines.”
Among the factors that will come into play on vaccine choice include which vaccine is available locally, parents’ preference and pediatricians’ recommendations, according to Maldonado.
The main difference between the two is that Moderna’s vaccine is delivered in two shots, taken 28 days apart, and Pfizer’s vaccine requires three shots over the course of around three months.
Pfizer’s data shows that fuller protection against COVID-19 does not kick in until the third shot, meaning a child who gets that vaccine will take longer to be protected against the virus.
Moderna says its vaccine is about 40 to 50% effective after two shots, and the company expects to roll out a booster, or third shot, in the coming months.
The Pfizer vaccine has already been available for those who are 5 and older but would now be available for kids ages 6 months through 4 years.
Moderna’s vaccine has previously been available only for people ages 18 and older. The latest vaccine authorization will be for kids ages 6 months to 5 years.
2. Does it matter that Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines have different doses?
No, according to Dr. Vandana Madhavan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Mass General Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School.
“What is most important is that both vaccines have the lowest doses given to the youngest children so that they are protected without increased side effects,” she said. “The actual dose is less important than the level of protective antibody that a particular vaccines pushes the immune system to make.”
The Pfizer vaccine is 3 micrograms — one-tenth of the adult dose — given in three doses.
The Moderna vaccine is 25 micrograms — one-fourth of the adult dose — given in two doses.
3. Will my child have side effects from the vaccine?
The side effects in children who get vaccinated against COVID-19 are typically mild, according to Madhavan.
“The most common side effect from the COVID-19 vaccine in all age groups is a sore arm at the site of an injection,” said Madhavan. “Children might get a low-grade fever, generalized fatigue and crankiness but these side effects are less common and self-resolved, going away in a couple of days.”
4. Why does my child need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at such a young age?
While COVID-19 has had a more deadly impact on older adults, there have still been nearly 500 deaths in kids under 5 and over 30,000 hospitalizations in the U.S.
“One of the main issues is parents thinking that COVID-19 is a very mild disease, and the vaccines are very unsafe,” said Dr. Diego R. Hijano, pediatric infectious disease specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “And we cannot emphasize that the opposite is true.”
Dr. Tanya Altmann, a California-based pediatrician and school physician, said getting a child vaccinated against COVID-19 can not only help prevent immediate illness but also protect them from longstanding complications from the virus.
“Kids under age 5 deserve and need protection just as older kids and adults against the potentially serious complications from COVID-19 infection,” said Altmann. “The vaccine has reduced hospitalizations from COVID-19 in all other age groups and emerging data also shows a decrease in long COVID.”
Madhavan stressed that it is important to get as many children vaccinated as possible amid summer travel and camps and a return to school in the fall.
“We can’t predict what the summer and fall will bring with respect to new variants and how transmissible, how serious these variants will be,” said Madhavan. “We do know that thus far, vaccines are very effective at preventing serious disease from all variants.”
5. How do experts know the vaccine is safe for young kids?
Both Pfizer and Moderna released data to the FDA prior to Wednesday’s advisory meeting. The data shows the vaccines proved safe in clinical trials for kids ages 6 months through 4 years, or 5 years for the Moderna shot.
Dr. Jay Portnoy, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and a member of the FDA advisory committee, called the vaccines “very safe to use.”
“Our question today is, does the benefit outweigh the risks of this vaccine? And I think that the evidence is pretty clear,” Portnoy said at Wednesday’s meeting. “For preventing severe disease, hospitalization, emergency visits, this vaccine is very effective, very safe to use.”
6. How do I get a vaccine for my child?
Parents should talk to their child’s pediatrician about where and how to get a vaccine.
Pediatricians’ offices, children’s hospitals and family doctors’ offices will all be among the top sites for kids under 5 to get vaccinated.
If the authorization process for Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines moves forward as planned, vaccines could be available for kids as early as Tuesday.
“Remember, pediatricians get vaccines all the time. It’s a large part of what they do,” said Maldonado, adding that the American Academy of Pediatrics has already been working with the CDC and local health departments to coordinate the vaccine rollout for kids under 5. “They’re used to rolling out new vaccines on a regular basis.”
7. If my child had COVID, do they still need to get vaccinated?
Yes, pediatricians say.
“Individuals who have a combination of infection and vaccines have the best protection of all,” said Hijano, describing a concept called hybrid immunity. “They are better than those who only got the vaccines and significantly better than those who only got infected.”
According to Hijano, getting kids vaccinated, including those have already had COVID-19, will be especially important as the virus contains to change and new variants emerge.
Kids can get vaccinated as soon as they are out of isolation from COVID-19. They do not have to wait a certain amount of time, according to Hijano.
Priya Jaisinghani, M.D., is an endocrinologist at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — Looking at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would give the impression that COVID-19 is generally under control in Texas.
The federal agency’s map of levels of COVID-19 spread in the community shows most counties in the state are classified as “low” or “medium.”
But public health experts said this doesn’t tell the true story and that case counts are artificially low in Texas due to low levels of testing reported to public health officials.
“There are limitations to this metric by the CDC,” Dr. Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, an infectious disease specialist at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, told ABC News. “The primary diver for the first part of the metric is the number of cases and then you get into hospitalizations and percentage of occupancy by COVID-19 patients.”
He continued, “Until you see a high number of hospitalizations, you don’t even get to the medium level. And we know that there has to be significant underreporting at this point for the number of cases.”
According to the CDC, as of June 7 — the latest date for which data is available — Texas is currently performing 20,535 new COVID-19 tests per day with a seven-day rolling average of 24,352.
This is half as many as the average of 55,842 tests being performed three months ago.
Doctors told ABC News that testing is very different at this point in the pandemic, with fewer people testing at government-run sites and more people testing at home.
“Many people have access to testing through other means rather than going through one of the government screening centers,” Dr. Robert Atmar, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told ABC News. “People have access to home kits; they can buy them at the pharmacy.”
This means some Americans are testing positive for COVID-19 on at-home rapid tests and not reporting their results to public health officials either because there is no mechanism to report results, or they just fail to do so.
Additionally, if people need treatments, such as antiviral pills like Paxlovid, they are getting prescriptions from their doctor rather than going to a hospital to receive them, doctors said.
“This is partly good news because people are not getting sick enough to require health care, but the downside is you cannot track the amount of disease in the community,” Atmar said.
This means the CDC data on COVID-19 community levels is somewhat unreliable.
“The current national risk map may provide a false sense of relief,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “Many areas with high rates of transmission are deemed to be low risk only because of data reporting gaps and lags.”
He added, “The shift to home testing compounds these issues as that data is unlikely to make it into public health surveillance systems.”
Experts said this is one reason why wastewater data, which shows virus levels in wastewater samples, may be a more accurate representation of levels of COVID-19 in a community.
Although wastewater data is not representative of the entire U.S. — with many areas not even having treatment plants — it does give an idea of hidden waves across the country.
According to data from a Houston wastewater monitoring dashboard — run jointly by the Houston Health Department and Rice University — levels of COVID-19 in wastewater samples in the city, as of June 6, are 502% compared to baseline in July 2020.
This is similar to levels seen during the delta surge, which peaked at 539% compared to levels in July 2020.
Dr. Wesley Long, medical director of microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital, told ABC News that because transmission levels are high — not low or medium as indicated by the CDC in most Texas counties — it’s important for more people to get tested.
“What I would like to see change is for people to still be mindful,” he said. “Certainly, if they have symptoms, even if they’re mild symptoms, to get tested so that they know they’re negative or so that they can take the proper precautions and don’t continue to spread the virus.”
Dr. James Cutrell, an infectious disease physician at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, told ABC News he recommends people not just look at the CDC transmission map but also data on trends to see if cases are rising or falling and assess their personal risk.
“People who are fully vaccinated and boosted may be able to be more liberal in terms of what they feel comfortable whereas others who may have medical conditions or live with those who are more medically vulnerable need to consider being a bit more cautious,” Cutrell said.
(NEW YORK) — A growing number of gay men are publicly pushing back against what they say is bullying within the gay community over how they look, and in many cases using social media to do so.
Sam Coffie, who calls himself full-figured and posts his body with pride on social media, said as a gay man he has seen his dating life impacted by his appearance.
“I’ve had someone actually say, ‘If you lost a little bit more weight, I think we could go on a date,'” Coffie told ABC News’ Good Morning America.
Coffie said he feels gay culture in the United States has an “unwritten” and “unspoken” Adonis complex. The term refers to the anxiety and insecurity boys and men experience about their appearance and body image, according to The Adonis Complex, a book published in 2000 that gave the condition its name.
“People internalize, ‘I have to create this body image. I have to live up to this. I have to fight for this. I have to strive for this. I have to starve for this. I have to almost die for this in order for me to have my moment of worth here,'” said Coffie.
Nicko Cassidy said he has also faced body shaming as a gay man, explaining that body expectations he faced in college led him to extreme dieting.
“I think it’s definitely deep rooted the shame from childhood and growing up just to be who we are,” said Cassidy, adding that he faced taunts of being “so gay” and “fat” while in college. “And I think that shame kind of comes out and portrays it as like a little bit more of a superficial.”
Data shows that gay men have higher rates of eating disorders and other body image issues.
According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), gay males are thought to only represent 5% of the total male population but among males who have eating disorders, 42% identify as gay.
In addition to facing eating disorders, gay men had lower self-esteem related to their bodies and greater concerns for physical attractiveness when compared to straight men, according to a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
As with all populations, body dysmorphia and eating disorders in the gay community can often be fueled by social media, experts say, including dating apps and posts that showcase a false notion of the perfect man.
Experts say the body shaming some gay men experience comes with medical risks.
“The pursuit of the ideal body or the pursuit of perfection can certainly be damaging,” said Jason Whitesel, an Illinois State University professor and the author of Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma. “When you think about body dysmorphia, it may be associated with eating disturbances and that kind of pursuit can lead to depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues.”
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OBGYN, described body shaming in the gay community as a “medical issue.”
“There are associated medical risks here. It’s not just a cosmetic issue,” said Ashton, noting that body dysmorphia is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and a higher associated risk of death.
According to Ashton, a misconception when it comes to body image and eating disorder struggles is that friends and family can help by trying to reason with the person, when those struggles are in fact psychological conditions.
“The theory in psychology and psychiatry is that this is a detachment from reality,” said Ashton. “Oftentimes it’s the only way that person can exert any control over his or her life, by controlling what they look like and what they eat.”
She continued, “It’s not as simple as you’re just wanting to look like a magazine ad. It’s a true psychiatric and psychological condition.”
For people who are struggling, Ashton said her number one advice is to seek professional help.
“As intimidating and scary as that may seem, there is help available,” she said.
The National Eating Disorder Association has an eating disorder screening tool that is free and available online for people ages 13 and older.
The association also has a free helpline that is available by phone and text at 800-931-2237 and online chat HERE.
(WASHINGTON) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, a senior adviser to the president on the pandemic, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Fauci, 81, hasn’t had recent close contact with President Joe Biden or other senior officials, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci, who has mild symptoms, tested positive via a rapid antigen test, according to the NIAID.
He’s fully vaccinated and received two boosters, the NIAID said in a statement.
“Dr. Fauci will isolate and continue to work from his home,” the statement said. “Dr. Fauci will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical advice from his physician and return to the NIH when he tests negative.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Parents with young kids are one step closer to getting them vaccinated following a grueling wait for the last remaining group to be authorized for a vaccine.
The process for authorization and recommendation from the regulatory agencies kicked off Wednesday with a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration’s committee of independent experts.
The committee is scheduled to review the data on both the Moderna vaccine for kids under 6, which is a two-dose vaccine, and the Pfizer vaccine for kids under 5, which is a three-dose vaccine.
Though kids have generally had less-severe cases of COVID-19 than older adults, there have still been nearly 500 deaths in kids under 5 and over 30,000 hospitalizations in the U.S.
“We are dealing with an issue where I think we have to be careful that we don’t become numb to the number of pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths here. Every life is important. And vaccine-preventable deaths are ones that we would like to try to do something about,” said Dr. Peter Marks, who runs the vaccine division at the FDA.
“Granted, it’s a population that has been much less affected than the older populations, particularly the oldest population, but one nonetheless that has also been affected. And I think for those who have lost children to COVID-19, our hearts go out to them, because these are — each child that’s lost essentially fractures a family,” Marks told the committee on Wednesday.
Officials from Pfizer and Moderna stressed Wednesday that their vaccines are safe and effective at protecting young children against COVID-19.
Both companies reported mild reactions to the shots. Among young children, fevers and pain at the injection site were the most common symptoms reported following the shot, with most post-vaccination symptoms resolving in a matter of days.
“These pediatric groups represent a more vulnerable population, so it is particularly important to minimize reactions, including fever, while achieving an immune response likely to provide protection against COVID-19,” said Dr. William Gruber, senior vice president of vaccine clinical research and development at Pfizer.
Neither Moderna or Pfizer reported any cases of myocarditis among the youngest children.
And the impact spans wider than the statistics. Parents with kids too young to be vaccinated have dealt with constant child care interruptions from COVID-19 scares and two years of mitigation strategies even after most people in the country dropped their masks.
Once the FDA committee votes on Wednesday, the process moves to FDA leadership to officially authorize the vaccines. If that happens, the administration can start shipping out vaccines to states.
Then, on Friday and Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisers will meet to review the data on both vaccines.
The final step in the process is a recommendation from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, after which shots can be administered in doctors’ offices, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other locations.
Vaccines are expected to be available as early as the week of June 21, if the review processes find the vaccines safe and effective.
The Biden administration estimates that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within 5 miles of a potential vaccination site, an administration official said.
But it will be an uphill battle to convince parents to vaccinate their young kids, if polling is any indication. A recent survey from KFF found that just 1 in 5 parents are eager to vaccinate their kids right away.
Federal officials said they plan to lean into existing networks to get vaccine information out to families, like the American Academy of Pediatrics, mom blogs and PTAs, as well as groups specific to communities of color, like the League of United Latin American Citizens.
“We have learned from our previous campaigns, and one of the most important lessons that we’ve learned is that we know who people listen to when making decisions, and there are trusted people in their lives,” a senior administration official said.
