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COVID-19 live updates: Pfizer submits initial child vaccine data to FDA

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.

More than 690,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 64.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Sep 28, 8:55 am
Pfizer submits initial child vaccine data to FDA

Pfizer on Tuesday submitted data for the Phase 2/3 vaccine trial for 5- to 11-year-olds to the FDA.

Pfizer will make a formal request for authorization in the coming weeks.

The FDA will review the data and make a decision, possibly by the end of October. The timeline for authorization is not set in stone.

Sep 27, 8:00 pm
Judge upholds NYC school staff vaccine mandate

A three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dissolved a temporary injunction that halted New York City’s vaccine mandate for school staff.

The panel offered no explanation and cleared the way for the city to enforcement the public school vaccine mandate.

“Vaccinations are our strongest tool in the fight against COVID-19 – this ruling is on the right side of the law and will protect our students and staff,” New York City’s Department of Education said in a statement.

As of Monday night, 87% of DOE employees, including 91% of teachers and 97% of principals, have at least one shot, according to the DOE.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said public school employees will have until the end of day Friday to get at least one dose of vaccine.

Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, released a statement Monday night saying, “We will be working with our members to ensure, as far as possible, that our schools can open safely as the vaccine mandate is enforced.”

Sep 27, 7:02 pm
First lady Jill Biden receives booster shot

First lady Jill Biden received her COVID-19 booster shot Monday, according to Michael LaRosa, her spokesman.

The shot was administered at the White House in the afternoon, LaRosa told ABC News.

Sep 27, 6:10 pm
Judge rules Arizona ban on school mask mandate unconstitutional

An Arizona judge ruled Monday that the state’s ban on mask mandates in schools is unconstitutional.

Judge Katherine Cooper sided with the Arizona School Boards Association, which contended that the Arizona State Legislature’s law to ban school districts from issuing a mask mandate violates the state constitution’s title requirement and single subject rule.

The association argued that the legislature included policy regarding 30 subjects into one bill.

“The single subject rule precludes legislators from combining unrelated provisions into one bill to garner votes for disfavored measures. Together, these requirements promote transparency and the public’s access to information about legislative action,” the judge wrote in her decision.

The law was slated to go into effect on Sept. 29.

The state has until Nov. 1 to file an objection or response to the ruling.

Former Theranos board member, investor testifies against Elizabeth Holmes

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Former Theranos board member and former Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis testified last week in the criminal trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

“I was taken with the idea that with one drop of blood and with remote capability, you could basically test for a broad array of problems,” Mattis told jurors from the witness stand during his initial examination from prosecutors.

When asked who was in charge in board meetings — Holmes or her former romantic partner and Theranos Chief Operating Officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani — Mattis did not hesitate when he said: “Ms. Holmes.”

And when asked where he got his information regarding Theronos blood testing devices, he also named Holmes. “I had no other source of information on it,” he told the court.

Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 and claimed the company was developing blood testing technology that could perform hundreds of blood tests using only a few drops of blood. Holmes and Balwani face a dozen charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with what prosecutors call a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors and patients.

Both have pleaded not guilty. Balwani’s trial is slated to begin next year.

Along with Mattis, last week jurors heard from a digital forensic expert, Theranos’ former lab director, and the first Theranos patient to take the stand.

Mattis joined Theranos in 2013 and departed in 2016, prior to joining the Trump administration as the secretary of defense.

Mattis told jurors that when he joined the board in 2013 U.S. military casualties had not relented. “I was interested in anything that would improve the care of casualties,” he added.

Mattis recalled meeting Holmes in either 2011 or 2012, at an event in San Francisco where he was giving a speech. Holmes allegedly pricked his finger to give him “an idea of what the machine blood draw was,” he stated in court.

Mattis told the court that he became instantly impressed with Holmes’ description of Theranos’ testing capabilities, thinking the company’s devices could have game-changing benefits on the battlefield.

In 2013, he pushed for Theranos devices to join a “pilot project” where they’d be compared to devices already used on large U.S. Naval vessels, according to email exchanges between Mattis and Holmes displayed in court.

“We could do a side-by-side comparison,” Mattis recalled in the courtroom. The plan was to put Theranos devices up against the already-approved devices on those vessels to determine if the devices were “faster” or “more accurate.”

Mattis told jurors he invested $85,000 in the startup. His salary on the board was approximately $150,000, according to Theranos financial documents.

Theranos devices, however, never ended up in Mattis’ “pilot project” or in any sort of military arena. He testified that at a certain point, following growing scrutiny of the company’s testing capabilities, “I didn’t know what to believe about Theranos anymore.”

Since leaving the company’s board to join the Trump administration, Mattis has voiced regrets over his involvement with Holmes’ failed company. “The bottom line is we all make mistakes at times,” he told PBS in 2019.

Mattis may be the first of several notable names to testify in Holmes’ trial. Others who may be called as witnesses include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and prominent attorney David Boies. Murdoch was a Theranos investor, and Boies at one point sat on Theranos’ board and his firm served as the company’s outside counsel for several years.

Another key witness from last week, Brittany Gould, was the first Theranos patient to take the stand. She told the court that the company’s blood test inaccurately showed she was suffering a miscarriage when in fact she had a healthy pregnancy.

Gould, who had already miscarried three times, testified that in September 2014 she took a Theranos blood test at a Walgreens store in Arizona after learning that she was pregnant.

Additional non-Theranos tests confirmed the initial results were inaccurate, and she went on to have a healthy baby girl.

Holmes’ lawyers elected not to cross examine Gould.

Holmes and her counsel did not respond to ABC News’ repeated requests for comment.

Nearly 28,000 pounds of frozen pizza recalled due to misbranding, undeclared allergens

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The frozen DiGiorno Crispy Pan Crust pepperoni pizza has been found to contain textured soy protein, a known allergen that is not declared on the label, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Monday.

Nestle USA Inc. is recalling 27,872 pounds of the pizza product after a consumer complaint found that the frozen pepperoni pizza product carton may actually contain the frozen three-meat pizza, according to the FSIS release.

The recalled pizza products were produced on Jun. 30, 2021 and shipped nationwide.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions, the release stated.

ABC News reached out to Nestle for comment, but has not received word at this time.

After quitting the fashion industry, supermodel Halima Aden is back — this time, on her own terms

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Halima Aden made waves in the fashion industry when she became the first hijab-wearing supermodel, gracing the covers of top fashion magazines like Vogue.

She also became the first hijabi woman to model for Sports Illustrated and hit the runway for some of the world’s top designers — from New York Fashion Week to Milan.

But last year, while she was on top of the game, the Somali-American model quit the fashion industry because she felt that she had lost control of her identity in an industry that was incompatible with her religious beliefs.

But now, the 23-year-old is diving back into the fashion world — this time, on her own terms by being intentional about the spaces she is a part of and staying true to herself.

Aden announced this month her new role as global brand ambassador for Modanisa — a modest fashion retailer.

“It feels amazing to be back in fashion. I love fashion. I just didn’t love mainstream fashion and the tokenistic way that they’ve treated me. But there’s ways to do both, there’s ways to still be part of the fashion world while still remaining true to who you are,” she said.

“I think Muslim women now more than ever, we are reclaiming our time, we are reclaiming our identities. We’re wearing our hijabs very proudly, and it’s incredible to be in spaces and to represent Muslim woman,” she added.

Aden was born in a refugee camp in Kenya but when she was 6 years old, her family moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota. She gained national attention when she became the first hijabi woman to compete in the Miss Minnesota pageant. During the 2016 competition she wore a burkini by Modanisa and was a semifinalist.

A year later, Aden signed a three-year modeling contract where she was promised a private changing area during shoots and shows. Her contract also outlined that her hijab was non-negotiable.

But according to the model, some stylists had other plans and some tried to downplay her hijab or replace it with other clothing items to change her look.

“The last two years, I trusted the team on set to do my hijab and that’s when I ran into problems,” she said in a BBC interview after announcing that she’s quitting. “like jeans being placed on my head in place of a regular scarf. The way they styled it, I was so far removed from my own image. My hijab kept shrinking and got smaller and smaller with each shoot.”

At the time, she said that her mother, who she is very close to, also wasn’t a big fan of her being in an industry so focused on looks and they had conversations about her faith, her identity and and her responsibility as a role model for Muslim women.

“It’s not easy being a minority within a minority within a minority. And being a Black Muslim, Somali American, former refugee, I have so many identities that make up who I am,” she said.

‘Hands off my hijab’: French Muslims rail against ban on religious garb in soccer
Amid an ongoing “internal conflict,” Aden found herself in situations where she had to compromise her beliefs in the name of fashion. But when her younger cousin expressed an interest in pursuing fashion and asked her for guidance, Aden realized that she couldn’t compromise anymore.

“I remember panicking, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, no, no, no.’ … I didn’t want her to be in this space because I realized it’s not a safe industry for a young hijabi woman,” Aden said.

“When I said no to her, I had to look in the mirror and ask myself, ‘Why am I in an industry that isn’t safe enough for my little cousin?'” she added. “… I had to then [come] to the conclusion that I must step away, because I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.”

When she announced that she was leaving the fashion industry, Aden shared a photo of her shoot with Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, writing, “(Rihanna) let me wear the hijab I brought to set. This is the girl I’m returning to, the real Halima.”

And although her mother is part of the reason she quit, she is also the reason she has now returned to fashion.

“She was the first to pick me back up and say, ‘No, you’re not going to quit, you’re going to dust yourself off and you’re going to come back bigger and better than ever,'” Aden said. “[Now] I’m using my platform the right way, and she’s my biggest fan and supporter.”

Muslim Americans confront legacy of 9/11 Islamophobia: ‘Unspoken tragedy’

Over the past year, Aden has been using her platform to speak up and share her story and by partnering with brands that are in line with her beliefs. She hopes to continue being a positive role model for women by encouraging them to remain true to themselves.

Asked what advice she would share with women who want to work in the fashion world, Aden said, “Own your identity, be proud of where you come from … have clear boundaries, and when those boundaries are being messed with, speak up.”

-ABC News’ Nidhi Singh contributed to this report.

Senate grapples with debt limit, stopgap funding with days to government shutdown

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Senate is poised to vote on a measure aimed at averting a government shutdown and raising the federal debt limit Monday evening, but Republicans have promised to block it.

If Monday’s vote fails, as it is expected to, Congress will be left with just four days to cobble together a government funding bill.

The measure being considered by senators Monday would extend federal funding at the current levels through early December and provide billions in emergency relief funds for Afghan refugee resettlement and Hurricane Ida relief. It also includes raising the federal debt limit through December 2022.

The debt limit must be dealt with by mid-October if lawmakers hope to avert potential financial calamity. Experts warn that failure to act could lead to the stock market crashing, rising rates for mortgages, loans and credit cards, and businesses finding it more expensive to do basic business, leading to layoffs.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen put it in stark terms in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, saying, “In a matter of days, millions of Americans could be strapped for cash.”

“Nearly 50 million seniors could stop receiving Social Security checks for a time,” she wrote. “Troops could go unpaid. Millions of families who rely on the monthly child tax credit could see delays.”

But Republicans are nearly united in their resolve to block any hike to the debt limit from moving forward, though Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy may vote to advance it because he feels his state desperately needs the hurricane relief.

On Monday, Republicans are expected to deny Democrats the 60 votes necessary to move forward on a stopgap funding bill because it would raise the debt limit.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer scolded Republicans for signaling they won’t come together to vote yes on Monday’s continuing resolution, calling their refusal “unhinged” and “radical.”

“There is no scenario on God’s green Earth where it should be worth risking millions of jobs, trillions in household wealth, people’s social security checks, veterans benefits and another recession, just to score short-term meaningless political points,” Schumer said.

“We’re facing a parade of horrible that will hurt every single American in this country,” he added.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued Republicans have been transparent for weeks that they will not support a continuing resolution that raises the debt ceiling.

“We will support a clean continuing resolution that will prevent a government shutdown, get disaster relief to Louisiana, help properly vetted Afghan refugees who put themselves on the line for America and support the Iron Dome assistance for our ally, Israel,” McConnell said. “We will not provide Republican votes for raising the debt limit.”

McConnell has argued that Democrats can and should be responsible for raising the debt limit on their own to offset the cost of a not-yet-passed massive social spending bill that encompasses many of President Joe Biden’s agenda items.

That social spending bill is exempt from the normal 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Democrats can pass it without any GOP support, and a raise in the debt limit should be tied to that bill, Republicans argue.

“My advice to this Democratic government, the president, the House and the Senate: Don’t play Russian roulette with our economy. Step up and raise the debt ceiling to cover all that you’ve been engaged in all year long,” McConnell said last week. “This is a totally Democratic government. They have an obligation to raise the debt ceiling, and they will do it.”

But raising the debt limit is traditionally a bipartisan objective. Senate Democrats have cried foul, alleging that McConnell is being inconsistent in his position.

Democrats worked with Republicans under the Trump administration to raise the debt limit on multiple occasions, and the limit now needs to be raised largely to pay for legislation passed during the Trump presidency. New proposals from the Biden administration haven’t yet been factored in.

“For Republicans to suddenly throw their hands in the air and abscond from their responsibility to pay debt that they proudly supported is nothing short of a dine and dash of historic proportions,” Schumer said last week. “Republicans wracked trillions of dollars in debt under President Trump and are demanding American families foot the bill.”

It’s not clear exactly how the Senate might proceed in the coming days to stop a shutdown.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested last week that Congress would likely consider a stopgap funding measure that does not impact the debt limit, buying lawmakers more time to strategize on how to proceed. McConnell said Republicans would support this.

But the clock is ticking. Democrats must address both the debt limit and government funding in the coming weeks while simultaneously juggling the fate of many of Biden’s most ambitious domestic policy priorities.

Without the 60 votes necessary to advance a debt limit hike in the Senate, lawmakers will have little choice but to include it in their massive $3.5 trillion social spending bill — but that bill’s fate is anything but certain.

In the House, moderates are threatening to withhold votes unless a separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August clears the lower chamber. The House is expected to vote on the bipartisan bill later this week, but progressives want to see more progression the larger social bill before they lend their support to it.

Biden addressed the big week on Capitol Hill while receiving his booster shot earlier Monday.

“We’ve got three things to do: the debt ceiling, continuing resolution and the two pieces of legislation. We do that, the country is going to be in great shape,” Biden told reporters.

Echoing the president at a briefing Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated congressional negotiations could stretch beyond this week.

“You said it could go into next week? That’s your expectations?” one reporter asked.

“We’ll see,” Psaki replied.

6-year-old boy follows mom’s instruction to leave mask on at school, wears it in school photo

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LAS VEGAS) — A 6-year-old boy whose mom told him to keep his face mask on at school is now going viral for following his mom’s instructions exactly.

Mason Peoples, a first-grade student in Las Vegas, Nevada, wore his face mask for his school photo.

The photo was shared on Facebook by his mom, Nicole Peoples, who wrote that her son had the option to take his mask off.

Peoples said her son declined and told the photographer, “No Thank you, I always listen to my mom!”

“I’m so proud of him for sticking to his word, but I should have been more clear about my rules on this day,” Peoples wrote on Facebook.

While Peoples’ photo of her son quickly went viral, Mason is not the only student who chose to keep a mask on for school photos this year, according to Matthew Comfort, an account manager for Dorian Studio, the photography studio that took Mason’s school photo.

“We’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of students this fall wearing their masks,” Comfort told “Good Morning America.” “It’s not an isolated incident.”

Comfort said that Dorian Studio first asks schools if they want to give students the option to remove their mask for their school photo. If the school allows masks to be removed for the photo, then the photographer gives each student the option.

The photographer who took Mason’s school photo on Sept. 7th, followed the guidelines correctly in giving Mason the option to take off his mask and then in following his request to leave it on, according to Comfort.

“If students don’t want to [remove their mask] because of safety concerns, we don’t push them,” she said. “[The photographer] did exactly what she was supposed to do.”

Mason’s now-viral school photo with his mask on is a sign of the times, as it is now the third school year in a row upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that face masks be worn at schools by both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

John Hinkley, who tried to assassinate Reagan, granted unconditional release

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge approved a plan Monday to unconditionally release John Hinckley Jr., who had shot and wounded former President Ronald Reagan in 1981, from all remaining court-ordered restrictions, if he continues to follow rules and agrees to undergo regular mental health examinations.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said he plans on issuing his ruling on the plan later this week, the Associated Press reported.

Hinckley, who was previously granted conditional release in 2016, was allowed to stay at his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Since then, he has been kept under regular court-ordered supervision and mandated therapy.

Hinckley, now 66, is not allowed to own a gun, contact Raegan’s children, other victims or their families, or actress Jodie Foster – who he was obsessed with at the time of the 1981 shooting.

Friedman said Hinckley could be released from all court supervision by June 2022, if he continues to follow those rules.

According to the Associated Press, Hinckley has displayed no symptoms of active mental illness, no violent behavior and no interest in weapons since 1983, said Friedman.

Facebook is ‘pausing’ development of Instagram Kids amid mounting backlash

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Facebook announced Monday that it was pausing development of its controversial “Instagram Kids” platform meant for children under the age of 13.

“While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we’ve decided to pause this project,” Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said in company blog post Monday. “This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today.”

“Critics of ‘Instagram Kids’ will see this as an acknowledgement that the project is a bad idea,” Mosseri added. “That’s not the case. The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today.”

He noted how YouTube and TikTok have already created versions of their apps for those under 13. Instagram’s goal was to allow parents to supervise and control their tweens’ experience on a version built for users ages 10 to 12, he said.

“We firmly believe that it’s better for parents to have the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram that is designed for them — where parents can supervise and control their experience — than relying on an app’s ability to verify the age of kids who are too young to have an ID,” Mosseri wrote.

While Instagram Kids has been paused, Mosseri said the company will continue to build opt-in parental supervision tools for teens and expects to have more to share on this in the coming months.

The “Instagram Kids” proposal has faced pushback for months. In May, a bipartisan coalition of 44 state and territory attorneys general sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg urging the company to abandon the project, citing the potential for harm to children.

Lawmakers also pressed Zuckerberg over the project during a March hearing, when he argued that there is “a large number of people under the age of 13 who would want to use a service like Instagram” and that it could provide “broadly positive” benefits such as helping young people stay connected with friends and learn about content online.

Monday’s announcement also comes in the wake of a Wall Street Journal investigation that alleged Facebook’s own internal research found Instagram harmful for young users, especially teenage girls. Facebook and Instagram have argued the reporting mischaracterizes what they are trying to do and that research also shows positive benefits.

“Recent reporting from the WSJ on our research into teen’s experiences on Instagram has raised a lot of questions for people,” Mosseri wrote Monday. “To be clear, I don’t agree with how the Journal has reported on our research.”

“We do research like this so we can make Instagram better,” he added. “That means our insights often shed light on problems, but they inspire new ideas and changes to Instagram.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle did not seem appeased by Facebook’s announcement.

“Pausing Instagram kids is not enough,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colorado, wrote on Twitter Monday. “They need to abolish the program completely.”

Another vocal critic of the project, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said on Twitter, “Facebook is heeding our calls to stop plowing ahead with plans to launch a version of Instagram for kids. But a ‘pause’ is insufficient.”

“Facebook must completely abandon this project,” Markey added

Drugging allegations at Northwestern frat houses spark protests

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(EVANSTON, Ill.) — Northwestern University says it is investigating two fraternity houses after students say they were non-consensually drugged during gatherings at the Evanston, Illinois, campus locations. There is also now a criminal investigation into the incidents by local police.

The university has yet to determine how many students were allegedly involved.

On Saturday, school officials halted social events and chapter-sponsored recruitment activities at some campus fraternities. The suspension will last until Oct. 17, at the earliest.

The university is encouraging students to seek on-campus counseling and other health services as needed as student protests erupt at the two locations where the incidents allegedly took place.

“I am here because multiple survivors have come forward stating the harm that they experienced in this frat and others,” one student told the ABC Chicago station. “This is not a unique instance.”

School officials said in a statement that they have been in communication with the Interfraternity Council, the governing body of many fraternities, and it “understand[s] the seriousness of these reports and the importance of the investigations.”

The IFC also passed a resolution to institute a ban on all social activities inclusive of recruitment events during this time frame.

“This decision was made to help ensure the safety of our students,” a university representative told ABC News. “As we said in our message to the Northwestern community, the health, safety and well-being of our students is our top priority.”

The university has since reminded students of the policy against alcohol in on-campus fraternity and sorority houses.

Northwestern University Police is urging people with information on these reports to call 847-491-3456.

Biden gets COVID-19 booster shot before cameras, pushes vaccinations

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden publicly received his COVID-19 booster shot on Monday afternoon as his administration promotes new booster guidance that has spurred some confusion among Americans on when to get a third dose.

“Like I did with my first and second COVID-19 vaccination shot, I’m about to get my booster shot and do it publicly. That’s because the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, the CDC, looked at all the data, completed their review, and determined the boosters for the Pfizer vaccine — others will come later, maybe, I assume — but the Pfizer vaccine are safe and effective,” Biden began.

Delivering remarks ahead of receiving a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the South Court Auditorium, provided Biden the opportunity to address some of that confusion.

He joked, “Now I know it doesn’t look like it, but I am over 65 — I wish — I’m way over. And that’s why I’m getting my booster shot today.”

The president already received his first dose of the vaccine on Dec. 21, 2020, and his second dose on Jan. 11, 2021. At age 78, Biden qualifies for a third shot under the new CDC guidance issued last week recommending booster shots to older Americans at least six months after their first series of shots.

Additionally, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky overruled her agency’s independent advisory panel last Friday by also adding a recommendation for a third dose for Americans ages 18 to 64 considered high risk to COVID-19 due to where they work.

Biden repeated the administration’s messaging that while booster shots are rolling out, baseline vaccinations are the priority.

“The bottom line is that you’re fully vaccinated, and you’re highly protected now from severe illness, even if you get COVID-19. You’re safe and we’re going to do everything we can to keep it that way, with the boosters. But let me be clear, boosters are important, but the most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated,” he said.

“The vast majority of Americans are doing the right thing. Over 77% of adults have gotten at least one shot. About 23% haven’t gotten any shots. And that, that distinct minority is causing an awful lot of us, a lot of damage for the rest of the country,” he added.

“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. That’s why I’m moving forward with vaccination requirements wherever I can,” Biden said.

As Biden walked over to receive his shot, he did a double-take back to the podium to put his mask back on, in apparent modeling of CDC recommendations.

He said first lady Jill Biden, at age 70 and working in a school, considered a high-risk environment for COVID-19, would receive her shot booster soon too.

On ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday, Walensky acknowledged the confusion around the decision and the categories of people it applies to as the administration promotes the rollout of booster shots.

Asked also on CBS about Biden’s comment last week that boosters could be offered to the general population anyway, despite the more narrow recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration and CDC, Walensky said, “I recognize that confusion.”

“Right now, our recommendation is for these limited people in the population, over 65, high-risk workers, high-risk community occupations, as well as high-risk by comorbidities,” she said.

On when the general population will be eligible, Walensky said it’s being looked at every few weeks but did not offer the same optimism as the president had last week.

“We are evaluating this science in real-time. We are meeting every several weeks now to evaluate the science. The science may very well show that the rest of the population needs to be boosted. And we will provide those guidances as soon as we have the science to inform them,” she said.

The new CDC current policy does not apply for boosters to be given to people initially vaccinated with the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shots.

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