(WASHINGTON) — Jessica Rosenworcel is in line to make history as the first woman to head the Federal Communications Commission, after President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday his intent to officially nominate her as a commissioner and designate her as chair of the agency tasked with regulating telecommunications technology.
Rosenworcel has served as acting chair of the FCC since January, but would need to be confirmed by the Senate to assume her new role as chair in an official capacity. She has been a commissioner since 2012.
Her nomination could also mean the end to Trump-era clampdowns on net neutrality, as Rosenworcel has been a fierce advocate for an internet that is “open and available for all.”
“The internet should be open and available for all. That’s what net neutrality is about,” Rosenworcel said in an October 2020 statement. “It’s why people from across this country rose up to voice their frustration and anger with the Federal Communications Commission when it decided to ignore their wishes and roll back net neutrality.”
She added that she views the rollbacks to net neutrality as a way to “make it easier for broadband companies to block websites, slow speeds, and dictate what we can do and where we can go online.”
During her brief stint as acting chair, Rosenworcel has focused on closing the digital divide at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt dependence on internet access for millions of Americans in order to go to school or do their jobs.
Rosenworcel’s policy approach and the historic nature of her nomination has also been lauded for representing the needs of women in a sector where they remain underrepresented in leadership positions.
“Every issue is a gender issue, even broadband access,” Rosenworcel wrote in a July op-ed she co-authored with Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
The op-ed cited how 31% of women have worried about paying their broadband bill during the pandemic, and delved into the issues working mothers especially faced when schools shuttered for in-person learning. The piece promoted the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which aims to support students who need internet access at home in order to participate in virtual schooling during the health crisis.
The White House also recognized her inclusive approach to telecommunications policy, especially for low-income communities, in a statement Tuesday.
“During her time at the agency, she has worked to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success,” a statement from the White House announcing her nomination Tuesday said. “From fighting to protect an open internet, to ensuring broadband access for students caught in the Homework Gap through the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, to making sure that households struggling to afford internet service stay connected through the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, she has been a champion for connectivity for all.”
She has also led a fight against illegal robocalls, the statement added, and worked to enhance consumer protections.
Rosenworcel previously worked as a senior communications counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and before that practiced communications law after graduating from the New York University School of Law.
The mother of two is originally from Hartford, Connecticut, but currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.
In addition to announcing Rosenworcel’s nomination, the Biden administration said Tuesday that it plans to nominate fellow net neutrality advocate Gigi Sohn as an FCC commissioner. If both the new nominees are confirmed, it would give the FCC a Democratic majority. If their confirmations are delayed until Rosenworcel’s term expires at the end of the year, Republicans would hold a majority on the commission — setting up a potential political showdown over their confirmations.
(WASHINGTON) — A Senate panel on Tuesday grilled executives from YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on what the social media companies are doing to ensure young users’ safety in the wake of revelations about Facebook’s practices and allegations the platforms need to do more to prevent potentially harmful effects on kids.
“They have deepened America’s concern and outrage and have led to increasing calls for accountability, and there will be accountability,” Senate Commerce subcommittee Chair Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in his opening remarks regarding the newly exposed details on the inner workings of social media giants.
“We’re hearing the same stories of harm” caused by YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, Blumenthal said, calling this, “for Big Tech, a Big Tobacco moment.”
“This time is different,” he said.
The subcommittee is seeking information from executives at TikTok, Snap Inc. and YouTube on how critics say algorithms can magnify harm to children, with the goal of passing legislation aimed to protect kids.
“You’re parents,” said Ranking Member Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to the witnesses in her opening statement. “What would you do to protect your child?”
Tuesday’s hearing comes as the subcommittee expands its scope after hearing from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen earlier this month. She alleged that executives blatant disregarded concerns when they learned their platforms could have harmful effects on foreign democracies and the mental health of children.
The hearing also marked the first time TikTok and Snapchat have testified before lawmakers, while Facebook has been called to more than 30 congressional hearings through the years and YouTube executives have already appeared in front this Congress earlier in the year.
The social media executives on Tuesday vigorously defended how their platforms protect children from inappropriate content.
Here are some key takeaways:
Tech companies blasted for alleged lack of transparency
Different from a normally polarized Washington, senators on both sides of the aisle came together to drill the social media executives on transparency and focused on whether they’d allow access to independent researchers to study their algorithms, which some allege have exposed kids to harmful behavior and fueled eating disorders in young girls.
All three platforms said they have studied the potential negative impacts on children’s mental health.
Blumenthal asked, “If an academic researcher comes to you on child psychology and wants to determine whether one of your products causes teen mental health issues or addiction, they get access to raw data from you without interference?”
Jennifer Stout, vice president for global public policy of Snapchat parent Snap Inc., said her company’s algorithms “operate very differently” from those of the other platforms under scrutiny, but ultimately signaled a willingness to support outside researchers, as did TikTok’s executive.
“Yes, senator, we believe transparency for the average is incredibly important. We’re one of the first companies to publish publicly, a deep dive in how our algorithm works,” said Michael Beckerman, a TikTok vice president and head of public policy for the Americas.
Leslie Miller, vice president for government affairs and public policy of YouTube’s owner Google, skirted the question and said that outside research “would depend on the details” — an answer that frustrated Blumenthal.
“I’m going to cite the difference between your response between Mister Beckerman’s and Ms. Stout’s, which indicates certainly a strong hesitancy if not resistance,” Blumenthal said to Miller.
Overall, the executives defended what senators deemed was a lack of transparency.
Stout said in her closing statement that the protection of children is the “highest priority,” and Miller also said at YouTube there “no more important thing than the safety of kids online.”
But Tiktok appeared to be most willing for congressional oversight with Beckerman saying squarely in his closing statement, “We support stronger privacy rules to be put in place.”
Push for privacy legislation
While millions of young users log into the platforms every day, the bipartisan panel of senators appeared to agree that not enough is being done to protect them from harmful content.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., used the moment to push the companies to say whether they support his proposed privacy laws banning the use of targeted ads on kids and other potentially harmful features.
One piece of legislation he’s introduced, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, would prohibit internet companies from collecting personal information from anyone under the age of 13 without parental consent.
“Do you support it or not?” he asked the Snap executive.
“I think, senator, we’d love to talk to you a bit more about this,” Stout said.
“This is just what drives us crazy,” a heated Markey responded. “We want to talk, we want to talk, we want to talk. This bill’s been out there for years, and you still don’t have a view on it?”
“We like your approach,” Beckerman, from TikTok, said. “However, I think a piece that should be included is a better way to verify age across the Internet across apps rather than the system that is in place now. And I think with that improvement, it would be something that we’d be happy to support.”
Miller said wouldn’t commit on the record but said executives at YouTube have had “constructive” conversations internally.
He also pressed them on the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act, or KIDS Act, another piece of legislation he’s introduced to stop online practices such as manipulative marketing, noting the impact of social media influencers on children.
“They’re inherently manipulative to young kids who often cannot tell that they’re really paid advertisements that their heroes pushing that the hero is getting a monetary kickback,” Markey said. “Should we make it illegal?”
Miller said they would “need to stare at the details of such a bill” to which Markey, again, noted,” It’s been around for a while.”
The TikTok executive said they agree that there should be additional transparency and additional privacy laws, which Snap mirrored, but added the caveat, “We would be happy to look at them.”
After Miller said YouTube executives “support the goals of comprehensive privacy legislation,” when Blumenthal raised the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies, or EARN IT, Act, which has bipartisan Senate support, he said back, “This is the topic that we’ve seen again and again and again, and again. ‘We support the goals, but that’s meaningless unless you support the legislation.”
Focus on potential real-world harm on kids
With the momentum of the findings from the Facebook hearing, the panel argued that social media platforms have been allowed to promote and glorify dangerous content, and it especially harms the nation’s most vulnerable: children.
While executives defended their platforms and listed actions that they’ve taken internally, senators on the committee highlighted several examples of inappropriate content slipping past those safeguards and getting in front of children.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said his staff opened an account saying it was for a teenage girl, and when they opened the “Discover” page with its default settings, found concerning videos.
“They were immediately bombarded with content that I can most politely describe as wildly inappropriate for a child, including recommendations for among other things an invite to play an online sexualized video game, tips on why you shouldn’t go to bars alone,” he said, waving his hands with concern.
The Snap executive said guidelines prevent sexual content to 18 and above, “so I’m unclear as to why that content would’ve shown up for an account that was for a 14-year-old.”
Senators reminded the witnesses that Snapchat’s speed filter allowed users to add their speeds and it took eight years for the company to remove the filter following catastrophic car crashes associated with the app.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., pressed Snapchat over the use of illegal drugs being used on its platform in an argument for greater liability on tech companies, citing the case of Devin Norring, who authorities said died in Minnesota after taking Percocet laced with Fentanyl from a drug dealer on Snapchat.
“They can get on your platform and just find a way to buy it, and that is the problem,” she said. “Are you going to get drugs off Snapchat?”
Stout said it was a “top priority” and that it’s happening on other platforms, too.
“I think there are other ways to do this too as creating liability when this happened, so maybe that’ll make you work even faster, so we don’t lose another kid,” Klobuchar replied.
Citing a recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal which found that Tik Tok algorithm can put young users into content glorifying eating disorders, drug violence, Klobuchar asked blankly, “Have you stopped that?”
Beckerman said it’s something they’ve taken action on are “constantly working on” and repeated their support for the Children and Media Research Advancement Act or CAMRA Act.
Blumenthal pressed TikTok on its effects on teens, saying his staff created TikTok accounts intended for dance videos and within a week those accounts were flooded with content of suicidal ideation, self-injury, sex and eating disorders.
Beckerman suggested some of those challenged are overblown by the press and said that’s “not the typical TikTok experience.”
“We found pass-out videos,” Blumenthal said, pausing for dramatic effect. “We found them, so I have a lot of trouble crediting your response on that score.”
“This is stuff occurring in the real world,” he added later.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 738,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 67.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 27, 3:41 am
Australia to lift ban on citizens leaving the country
After more than 18 months, Australia announced Wednesday that it will lift a ban on its own people from leaving the country without permission.
Starting Nov. 1, citizens and permanent residents of Australia who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer require an exemption to travel abroad. Australia has imposed some of the world’s strictest border rules amid the pandemic, which Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said has kept the country “free from widespread COVID transmission.”
“The easing of these restrictions is possible thanks to our impressive national vaccination rates, and I thank all those who have done the right thing and rolled up their sleeve,” Andrews said in a statement Wednesday.
While Australian citizens and permanent residents are currently the “first priority,” Andrews said, more travel restrictions — including for some foreigners — will be relaxed as the national vaccination rate “continues to climb.” As of Wednesday, nearly 75% of people aged 16 and over in the country are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data posted by the Australian Department of Health.
“I look forward to further easing restrictions over coming weeks and months as more and more Australians become fully vaccinated,” Andrews said. “Before the end of the year, we anticipate welcoming fully vaccinated skilled workers and international students.”
Oct 26, 8:53 pm
Immunocompromised may need 4th dose: CDC
Immunocompromised people may need a fourth dose of the vaccine, according to newly issued guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those patients may end up needing an additional shot six months after their third dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, the CDC said. The fourth dose can be of any of the three available vaccines, according to the agency.
This is in line with what the CDC has said before regarding immunocompromised adults. A third shot is considered necessary to establish vaccination for those patients and a boost would need to come six months later, according to the agency.
Oct 26, 4:26 pm
FDA panel greenlights vaccines for kids
An advisory panel at the Food and Drug Administration voted Tuesday in support of the Pfizer vaccine for kids 5 ages 11.
Seventeen people voted “yes” and one person abstained.
Next, the FDA will make a decision. Then, the matter heads to the CDC’s independent advisory panel to deliberate and vote next week, and after that, the CDC director is expected to make the final signoff.
The earliest shots could be in arms is the first week of November.
Oct 26, 2:37 pm
Biden administration to ship vaccines for children as soon as FDA approves them
The Biden administration will begin shipping vaccine doses for kids ages 5 to 11 as soon as the Food and Drug Administration gives the green light in coming days, White House officials told governors on a private phone call Tuesday.
Doing so will allow children to begin receiving shots as soon as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off, which is expected around Nov. 4.
Jeff Zients, the White House coordinator on the federal response to COVID-19, said one big concern is the shorter shelf life for pediatric doses. In trying to make the vaccine easier for pediatricians to handle, the doses for kids 5 to 11 can be kept for only 10 weeks, compared with six to nine months for adult doses.
“We don’t want to have wastage, so we encourage you to build flexibility into your distribution systems you can move around within your state or territory,” he told the governors. Audio of the call was obtained by ABC News. “Just order what you need. We have plenty of supply. We can always get you doses on short notice.”
(ARLINGTON, Va.) — Headlining a rally Tuesday evening, President Joe Biden was the latest national Democrat to campaign in Virginia for gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe, joining a long list of prominent figures in the party who’ve descended on the commonwealth to mobilize voters against Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin.
“You all know the stakes,” Biden told a crowd of supporters at the Virginia Highlands Park in Arlington, just outside the nation’s capital. “You don’t have to wonder what kind of governor Terry will be because you know what a great governor he was. It wasn’t just because of what he promised, it’s what he delivered.”
This marked the president’s second time stumping for McAuliffe; he first campaigned with him in late July.
Always falling the year after a presidential election, Virginia’s off-year elections, in particular the gubernatorial race, are considered a bellwether for politics heading into the midterm elections. Virginia trended increasingly blue over the four years of Donald Trump’s presidency, but this election will be the first measure of how lasting that rebuke of the GOP is in what used to be a presidential battleground. A loss for McAuliffe, or even a narrow win, will also serve as a warning shot for Democrats in Washington that an unpopular president and stalled agenda defined by intraparty differences could cost them their slim majorities in Congress next year.
Biden’s approval is not only underwater nationally, but also in Virginia, where a Monmouth poll out last week showed more than half of voters disapprove of the job he is doing as president.
Trump endorsed Youngkin after he secured the Republican nomination in May, but he has not done any events with the candidate. He called into a rally in support of the statewide GOP ticket where attendees pledged allegiance to a flag said to be carried at the rally preceding the Jan. 6 insurrection, but Youngkin was not there and denounced the pledge as “weird and wrong.” The Republican has had to toe the thin line between being too pro- or anti-Trump so as not to alienate voters on either end of the political spectrum, and he’s fired back at McAuliffe’s Trump attacks by reminding his opponent that Trump is not on the ballot, trying to keep the focus on Virginia-specific issues.
The state rejected the former president twice (and by a 10-point margin in 2020), Democrats flipped the state legislature in 2019 and Republicans haven’t won statewide office in over a decade — all indications Trump is politically toxic in Virginia. McAuliffe and other Democrats have tried to use Trump’s toxicity to drag down Youngkin, tying him to the former president at every opportunity.
But during Tuesday night’s rally, Biden borrowed McAuliffe’s playbook, closely tying Youngkin to the former president.
“How well do you know Terry’s opponent? Well, just remember this, I ran against Donald Trump. Terry is running against an acolyte of Donald Trump,” Biden said, claiming Youngkin has embraced Trump’s “bad ideas and bad record.”
The president also comment on how Youngkin hasn’t done any campaign events with Trump, claiming the GOP nominee “won’t allow Donald Trump to campaign for him in this state.”
“What’s he trying to hide? Is there a problem with Trump being here? Is he embarrassed?” Biden rhetorically asked the crowd.
Despite the race tightening over the last few weeks, McAuliffe is confident he’ll once again break the so-called “Virginia curse” of candidates losing Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial race if they have the same party affiliation as the current occupant of the White House. He broke it in 2013 when Barack Obama was president.
Barred by Virginia law from seeking a consecutive term, McAuliffe is vying for a comeback eight years after first winning the governor’s mansion, and despite Democrats’ recent gains, he’s locked in a tight race with Youngkin, a former private equity executive running his first campaign for political office. According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, the McAuliffe’s lead is under two points one week out from Election Day — down from a nearly eight-point peak over Youngkin he had in early August.
Biden touted McAuliffe first term in office, even saying he’s “taking a page” from the Democrat’s book by including an expansion of pre-K in his Build Back Better bill that Congress and the White House are still negotiating. Biden also plugged McAuliffe’s record on the economy and creating new jobs, saying, “If you’re looking for someone who’s going to keep your economy going and growing, the man behind me’s the guy to get it done.”
Calling in help from national politicians is in line with how McAuliffe and other Democrats have nationalized the stakes of this race.
“This election is about the next chapter of Virginia — and our country,” McAuliffe said at a rally in Richmond with Obama Saturday.
“What happens here, I promise you is about people in these state and the people of our country,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at a rally in Prince William County Thursday.
In addition to Obama and Harris, who will be back in the state Friday for a concert rally in Norfolk with Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams, McAuliffe has had first lady Jill Biden, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms campaign for him. Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., are campaigning for him in Northern Virginia Wednesday night.
Youngkin has taken a different approach as the campaign ends, touting his 10-day, 50-stop “Win with Glenn” bus tour around the commonwealth and mocking his opponent for relying “on big name surrogates to draw paltry, apathetic crowds.”
“Nobody’s coming to campaign with me,” Youngkin told CBS last week. “I mean, this is a race about Virginians and about the Virginia challenges.”
Polls show Republicans are more enthusiastic about participating in this election than Democrats. How heavily Washington’s woes weigh on McAuliffe, and whether enough Virginia voters buy the Democrats’ attempts to paint Youngkin and Trump as one in the same, and in turn, vote against him in this race, won’t be known until the votes are counted.
Mark Rozell, dean of George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, told ABC News Tuesday that the number of national surrogates stumping for McAuliffe is indicative of Democrats’ concerns.
“I think a lot of that has to do with the McAuliffe campaign being worried that the Democratic base is asleep right now, that the Democratic brand right now is suffering because of the declining popularity of the president, what happened in Afghanistan, the perception that the party just can’t get it together in Washington to get things done,” said Rozell, who’s covered this race in the Washington Post’s opinion section.
McAuliffe himself has acknowledged the president’s falling support in Virginia.
“We got to get Democrats out to vote. We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know. The president is unpopular today, unfortunately, here in Virginia, so we have got to plow through,” he said during a virtual rally on Oct. 5 that was clipped by the Republican National Committee and posted on social media.
In a statement ahead of Biden’s quick trip across the river, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said McAuliffe knows the president “is failing Virginians.”
“With an unprecedented amount of Republican enthusiasm, Virginians are ready to reject Terry McAuliffe and Joe Biden this November and turn out for Glenn Youngkin and Republicans up and down the ballot,” she said.
This weekend, Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry marks its 5000th Saturday night show — a feat that would take more than 96 years to repeat.
So what does it take to become the world’s longest-running radio show? Jeannie Seely — the Grammy-winning Opry legend who’s been a member since 1967 — has a theory.
“It’s not like anything else,” she tells ABC Audio. “Quite often there are three generations on the stage, and three generations in the audience. You don’t see that. You may see three generations in the crowd at a sporting event, but you don’t see them on the field.”
“I think that is one thing that knits [the Opry] together,” she explains. “One generation gets to know the one before, and the one after.”
It’s a phenomenon the “Don’t Touch Me” hitmaker demonstrated backstage, as she and Ashley McBryde visited about the recent Opry induction of Carly Pearce, Ashley’s duet partner on “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”
“I’m in [dresssing] room 18 tonight, [themed] ‘The Women of Country,'” Ashley said, “And we walked in, the first thing I did was walk over to [Carly’s] picture and take a selfie, and I was like, ‘She looks so beautiful!'”
“It was such a whirlwind for her, and I knew that…” Jeannie reminisced. “We live in the same hood and I get to be around her now that she’s a little Opry sister — Little? You know, that I look up to,” she added.
Saturday night, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Darius Rucker, Chris Young, Vince Gill, Connie Smith, Dustin Lynch, Chris Janson and many more, will help Jeannie and the Opry mark the milestone.
“After all these years, I can’t even explain what that extended family means to any artist that’s here,” she reflects.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Atlanta 6 Houston 2 (Atlanta leads series 1-0)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New York 112, Philadelphia 99
Golden State 106, Oklahoma City 98
Dallas 116, Houston 106
LA Lakers 125, San Antonio 121 (OT)
Utah 122, Denver 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 5, Pittsburgh 1
Calgary 5, New Jersey 3
Vegas 3, Colorado 1
Nashville 3, San Jose 1
Minnesota 3, Vancouver 2
Seattle 5 Montreal 1
Winnipeg 4, Anaheim 3
(WASHINGTON) — Vaccines for 28 million American children are on the way to authorization after an advisory panel at the Food and Drug Administration voted in support of the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 5-11 on Tuesday afternoon.
The vote was the first step in a regulatory process for the two-shot Pfizer vaccine that could allow kids to get their first shots in early November and become fully immunized by early December.
Next, leaders of the FDA have the chance to officially sign off, potentially as soon as Tuesday night. If and when that happens, the White House will begin shipping doses, senior officials told governors on a call Tuesday afternoon that was obtained by ABC News.
But there are still more steps before shots go into arms: If authorized by the FDA, the process would move to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention next Tuesday, when a CDC panel meets to discuss the same data reviewed by the FDA advisers.
“If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval, and the recommendations from the CDC, it’s entirely possible, if not, very likely, that vaccines will be available for children from 5 to 11 within the first week or two of November,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser for the White House, said in an interview on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Many parents are desperate to protect their children after the delta surge over the summer led to increased cases and hospitalizations among kids. Though the variant is not more deadly, it is more transmissible — and because kids are unvaccinated, the variant rocketed through schools and camps.
The most recent data from Pfizer’s clinical trials found that the vaccine for 5-11 year olds was nearly 91% effective against symptomatic illness.
For kids, the vaccine will be given at a smaller, one-third dose.
The vaccine also appeared safe. None of the children in the clinical trials experienced a rare heart inflammation side effect known as myocarditis, which has been associated with the mRNA vaccines in very rare cases, mostly among young men.
And in a review of the data that assumed the worst — that kids could experience myocarditis at the same rates as young men, which many experts don’t believe will be the case — the FDA’s senior adviser for benefit-risk assessment, Hong Yang, still found that in the majority of scenarios, kids will still be safer once vaccinated.
Dr. Matthew Oster, a pediatric cardiologist, told the panel during his presentation on myocarditis that one of the leading theories is that the heart inflammation is linked to testosterone and hormones, which is why it has occurred more often in teenage boys and young men. Oster also said people tend to recover quickly from the kind of myocarditis experienced after vaccination.
But he noted that long-term study of myocarditis is still needed.
“We really need to see what the long-term outcomes for these kids will be. So far, the data for follow-up results is sparse but ongoing follow-up is in progress,” Oster said.
Despite the near-unanimous vote, Oster and Yang’s presentations were among the most debated.
The FDA experts ultimately agreed all children should have the opportunity to get vaccinated, but many also voiced concern over the remaining unknowns about adverse effects, weighing that against the relatively low risk of hospitalization or death from COVID for kids.
Most FDA advisers felt very clearly that the benefits outweighed the risk.
“To me the question is pretty clear. We don’t want children to be dying in COVID, even if it is far fewer children than adults, and we don’t want them in the ICU,” said Dr. Amanda Cohn, chief medical officer for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Although children are less likely to die of COVID-19 than older adults, nearly 2 million kids in the 5-11 age group have gotten COVID. Of those, 8,300 have been hospitalized, about one-third of whom have been in the intensive care unit, and almost 100 kids have died.
Cohn said if adverse events like myocarditis increase among kids, the safety systems in place will flag and address the problem.
Dr. Jeannette Lee, a biostatistician at the University of Arkansas, also agreed.
“Obviously, the adverse events are always a concern, but they don’t seem to be overwhelming really, at this point,” Lee said. “I will say that the school closures and the disruption, I think has been enormous.”
But some, though they voted in favor, also felt there should be caveats to the authorization.
“I’m just worried that if we say yes, that the states are going to mandate administration of this vaccine to children in order to go to school, and I do not agree with that. I think that would be an error at this time, until we get more information about the safety,” Dr. Cody Meissner, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Tufts Children’s Hospital, told his colleagues on the panel.
For his part, FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said the experts should trust that any adverse effects would be closely monitored and acted on if necessary.
The safety teams at the FDA and CDC “are incredibly committed and devoted to making sure that we understand the nature of the safety events and that we catch these signals as soon as we possibly can,” Marks said. “That’s what we’re here to do.”
The White House has purchased enough pediatric doses to vaccinate all 28 million children ages 5 to 11. If authorized, it will be distributed to thousands of sites, including pediatricians, family doctors, hospitals, health clinics and pharmacies enrolled in a federal program that guarantees the shots are provided for free.
Some states are planning to provide the vaccine through schools as well.
The 5-11 age group would be the youngest and latest to receive eligibility. The Pfizer vaccine has already been authorized for adolescents 12 and up, and everyone 18 and older is eligible for all three vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna and J&J.
Whether parents will embrace the vaccines for their kids is still a question. In a September poll, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about a third of parents with kids ages 5-11 were willing to vaccinate their kids right away, while another third wanted to “wait and see.” The figures represented a slight uptick in vaccine acceptance among parents of elementary-school-aged kids since July.
Trials for children 2 years and up, the next age group that could become eligible, are ongoing. Data from the clinical trials is expected sometime this winter.
The Bachelorette continued Tuesday with Michelle Young trying to find the culprit who’s been spreading rumors about her and one of her potential suitors.
Michelle was clued into the drama following her first on-on-one date with Jamie, where the two shared a rock-climbing adventure. Jamie took their relationship to new heights by opening up about the heartbreaking story of his mother, who struggled with mental health issues and died by suicide when he was 24-years-old. Jamie said he struggled with a years-long battle with severe depression because of the tragedy.
Michelle pinned the date rose on Jamie and told him that she was “beyond impressed” with the “beautiful person” he’d become.
Unfortunately, Jamie demonstrated an uglier side of himself heading into the rose ceremony and addressed a rumor he overheard concerning Michelle and Joe — who hails from her home state of Minnesota and received a group date rose — dating each other prior to appearing on the show.
The other suitors appeared unfazed by the gossip, but Jamie felt the need to confront Michelle about the alleged relationship. However, he claimed it was the other suitors — and not him — who were up in arms.
Michelle then confessed to the group that she and Joe “exchanged a few messages quite a few years back,” but the real estate broker “ghosted” her and “that was that.” That speech left the group wondering who confronted Michelle behind their backs.
At the rose ceremony, Alec, Daniel, Pardeep and PJ were sent home.
Along with Joe, Jamie and Brandon, the latter of whom also received a group date rose, here are the other men remaining after the first rose ceremony:
Brandon J., 26, a traveling nurse recruiter from Portland, Ore.
Casey, 36, an advertising creative director from Miami Beach, Fla.
Chris G., 28, a motivational speaker from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Chris S., 28, a commodities broker from West Hollywood, Calif.
Clayton, 28, a medical sales rep from Columbia, Mo.
Jamie, 32, a biotech CEO from San Diego, Calif.
Joe, 28, a real estate developer from Minneapolis, Minn.
Leroy, 27, a biomedical Ph.D. student from Dallas, Texas
LT, 38, a yoga guru from Bellevue, Wash.
Martin, 29, a personal trainer from Miami, Fla.
Mollique, 36, an academic administrator from San Diego, Calif.
Nayte, 27, a sales executive from Austin, Texas
Olu, 27, an IT analyst from Newark, N.J.
Peter, 26, a pizzapreneur from Port St. Joe, Fla.
Rick, 32, a medical sales rep from Los Angeles, Calif.
Rodney, 29, a sales rep from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Romeo, 32, a mathematician from New York City, N.Y.
Spencer, 25, a financial crimes analyst from Cleveland, Ohio
Will, 28, an academic interventionist from Grand Rapids, Minn.
The Bachelorette returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada) and The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.
Teyana Taylor is celebrating her husband, Iman Shumpert, and his Dancing with the Stars partner, Daniella Karagach, achieving a perfect score Monday on the TV dance competition. The “Gonna Love Me” singer remains on the East Coast while her hubby competes in LA, and she says there are some benefits to be being briefly separated.
“I think once you see one another, that I miss you sex is the best, so I think that is the spark, like, not being up on each other all day,” the singer/actress/fashion designer tells Us Weekly.
“It’s just like you are admiring one another, like, ‘Damn, you’re doing your thing,'” she adds. “Let me be doing this for our kids, so when we see each other, it’s nothing but love and just comfort and spice.”
Teyana is now preparing for her 12-city farewell tour, which kicks off November 7 in San Francisco. In addition, she’s working as the creative director of the fashion company PrettyLittleThing, while also taking care of their children, daughters Iman Jr., 5, and Rue, 13 months.
The 30-year-old entertainer is very proud to see her NBA star husband excelling with Karagach outside of his basketball comfort zone.
“I honestly think that their chemistry is amazing,” Taylor explains. “I think that Daniella is an amazing choreographer. I’m a dancer, so I appreciate what she do and then she kills it.”
After five years of marriage, the MTV VMA winner says she’s not jealous of seeing her husband dancing with another woman.
“I’m too secure in my s*** to be worrying about that,” the Coming 2 America star says. “I think that’s the part that we love about each other the most, because we do our job and we literally keep it pushing.”
If there was ever the ultimate Black Veil Brides album, The Phantom Tomorrow might be it.
The band’s sixth studio effort, due out this Friday, is a conceptually driven piece that will be accompanied by action figures and comic books. And that’s not to mention the epic, cinematic music itself.
“Being six records into our career, it was extremely important to all of us that we make a record that felt like it was an evolution for us musically, but also honored the parts of our past that have gotten us to this point,” frontman Andy Biersack tells ABC Audio.
The Phantom Tomorrow is BVB’s third concept album, following 2013’s Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones and 2018’s Vale. However, it’s a shorter, punchier listen than its predecessors, and, according to Biersack, is more interested in a “musical interpretation of an idea” than “beating you over the head with such an overt narrative.”
“You want to make a record that…stands on its own merits, but you also don’t want to make a record that the concept is impossible to understand,” Biersack says.
There still is the story to The Phantom Tomorrow, which follows a character known as Blackbird and what is essentially a personification of the supposed guaranteed existence of a tomorrow, something that might be upended by, say, a global pandemic. Basically, it’s like if Little Orphan Annie was having an existential crisis.
“[The album’s about] the idea that tomorrow is this kind of ever-present, omnipotent feeling of it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna be there, it’s always there, but the darkness that lives beneath that and the ideas that lie beneath that of, ‘But something could happen,'” Biersack says. “What bad or good could happen before that tomorrow comes has always interested me.”
