(WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Pfizer boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds.
The moves comes as schools reopen after the holiday break.
In a release, the FDA said it has amended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to also shorten the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer vaccine and a booster dose to at least five months, instead of six, and to allow for a third primary series dose for certain immunocompromised children 5 through 11 years of age.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Twenty-seven years after Elton John received the honor, his long-term musical partner Bernie Taupin has been made a CBE — Commander of the Order of the British Empire — as part of Queen Elizabeth II‘s annual New Year’s honors list.
Taupin received the honor in recognition of his “exceptional services to music.” A CBE is one step below a knighthood. Elton was made a CBE in 1995, and was subsequently knighted in 1998, which is why he’s now called Sir Elton John.
“Congratulations to my lyricist extraordinaire on his C.B.E that was announced today!” Elton wrote on Instagram. “I love you and you so deserve this recognition.” In the comments, Bernie replied, “Thanks my darling friend. It’s all a bit ironic isn’t it.”
Other music legends who are CBEs include Queen‘s Brian May, Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant, Sting, and the Bee Gees.
Meanwhile, Melanie Brown, aka Mel B, aka Scary Spice of the Spice Girls, was made an MBE — a Member of the Order of the British Empire. However, she wasn’t honored for her music, but for her work with Women’s Aid, a charity that helps “vulnerable women,” specifically victims of domestic violence.
Seems like the trend of legendary artists selling their catalogs for millions is continuing into 2022.
Warner Chappell Music and the estate of David Bowie announced Monday that WCM has purchased the music publishing rights to Bowie’s entire catalog. That includes all of the songs from the 26 studio albums released during his lifetime, plus his posthumous release, Toy, due out on Friday.
The catalog includes such timeless classics as “Heroes,” Ziggy Stardust,” “Let’s Dance,” “Changes,” “A Space Oddity,” “Rebel Rebel” and more. Bowie’s two studio albums with the band Tin Machine are also included in the deal, as are songs he recorded for soundtracks and other projects, like his Queen collaboration “Under Pressure.”
Variety puts the price of the catalog at $250 million.
In a statement, WCM CEO and Co-Chair Guy Moot said, “These are not only extraordinary songs, but milestones that have changed the course of modern music forever…We are looking forward to tending his unparalleled body of songs with passion and care as we strive to build on the legacy of this most extraordinary human being.”
What would have been Bowie’s 75th birthday is this Saturday, amid a campaign that includes pop-up stores in New York City and London, the release of the Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) box set, and a virtual charity tribute concert that will feature performances by Def Leppard, Duran Duran‘s Simon Le Bon and John Taylor, Living Colour, Rob Thomas, WALK THE MOON, and actors Gary Oldman and Evan Rachel Wood, among others.
Like many Broadway productions, Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical is being jeopardized by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
On the show’s Twitter, the musical’s producers noted the show that opened in December of 2021 is going on hiatus starting January 10 through March 14.
The lights at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre are set to turn back on March 15 for the adaptation of the 1993 Robin Williams comedy, about a divorced actor who dresses up as a nanny in order to spend more time with his kids.
Ticket holders can get a refund at point of purchase, or exchange their tickets for a future date when the musical gets back on its feet.
Between positive test results — even among headliners like Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in The Music Man — and New York City’s child vaccine mandates cutting into audience numbers, the Great White Way has been struggling in what was to be a rebound season after 2020’s shutdowns.
Producers of Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical are hoping the pause will give time for the worst of Omicron to pass, lest the show suffer the fate of productions including Jagged Little Pill, Diana, and Thoughts of a Colored Man, all of which were forced to close in part to increasing COVID-19 cases and falling numbers of ticket-buying tourists.
“It’s just something that needs to be done.” That’s the answer Janet Jackson gives as to why she’s allowing an in-depth look into her life and her career in a new extended trailer for the two-night Lifetime special, Janet.
In the trailer, we see stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul, Whoopi Goldberg, Missy Elliott, Regina King and other famous fans and colleagues comment on Janet, and the star herself talking about her childhood, her life in the spotlight, and the pressures that come with having the last name “Jackson.”
At one point, Janet also admits she felt her own career was affected by the allegations against her late brother, Michael Jackson: “Guilty by association, because that’s what they call it, right?” she notes.
Janet, which is co-produced by Janet and Randy Jackson, is described as an “intimate, honest and unfiltered look” at the superstar’s “untold story,” and the “definitive story on Janet Jackson” that leaves “no stone unturned.”
(NEW YORK) — Amid pushback from some public health officials on new Centers for Disease Control guidance for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, which does not require a negative test to end isolation after five days, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, said changes to the guidance are being considered.
“You’re right there has been some concern about why we don’t ask people at that five-day period to get tested. That is something that is now under consideration. The CDC is very well aware that there has been some pushback about that,” Fauci told This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
He continued, “Looking at it again, there may be an option in that, that testing could be a part of that. And I think we’re going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the CDC.”
The CDC issued new guidelines for those who test positive on Tuesday, recommending a five-day isolation period, if asymptomatic at that point, followed by five days of masking when around other people.
The CDC said in a statement: “The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for five days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five days to minimize the risk of infecting others.”
Some prominent public health officials, including former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, criticized the new guidelines. The nation’s largest nurses’ union and a major flight attendant union also expressed dissatisfaction with the new guidelines.
“Regardless of what CDC says, you really should try to obtain an antigen test (I know – easier said than done) and confirm it’s negative prior to leaving isolation and quarantine. There’s not a scientist or doctor I’ve met yet who wouldn’t do this for themselves/their family,” Adams tweeted.
The revised guidelines come as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reaches record levels. The CDC recorded more than 580,000 cases in the U.S. on Thursday, a pandemic record. That number shattered Wednesday’s record of about 488,000.
However, Fauci said Sunday the time has come to focus less on case counts, as “infections become less severe.” Instead, he said, “it is much more relevant to focus on the hospitalizations.”
As cases have skyrocketed, hospitalizations and deaths have not apparently followed the trend. Fauci expressed optimism about emerging evidence that the omicron variant could be less damaging, although he cautioned “hospitalizations are often late, lagging indicators.”
Even with the rising case numbers, Fauci said he believes it’s the correct decision to return children to in-person schooling after the holiday break as “it’s very clear there are really serious effects about” children not having a physical presence — and because most teachers are vaccinated and children 5 and up are eligible for COVID vaccinations.
“I plead with parents to please seriously consider vaccinating your children, wearing masks in the school setting, doing tests to stay,” he added. “I think all those things put together, it’s safe enough to get those kids back to school, balanced against the deleterious effects of keeping them out.”
Despite some promising data on omicron, Fauci warned there remains a heightened potential for stress on the nation’s hospitals and health care workers.
“We’ve got to be careful about that. Because even if you have a less of a percentage of severity, when you have multi, multi, multifold more people getting infected, the net amount is, you’re still gonna get a lot of people that are going to be needing hospitalization. And that’s the reason why we’re concerned about stressing and straining the hospital system,” Fauci told Stephanopoulos.
Still, Fauci expressed hope that what he described as a “severe surge” will peak within a few weeks.
“One of the things that we hope for, George, is that this thing will peak after a period of a few weeks and turn around,” Fauci told Stephanopoulos. “We’ve seen that happen in South Africa with a head of major surge, but as quickly as the surge went up, it turned around.”
(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds to thousands of calls come in to the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) each week from disabled people across the country with questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, testing spots and more.
As one of the first call centers to focus specifically on the needs of disabled people, the federally funded hotline continues to pick up speed, filling a service previously unmet, according to the line’s director Sara Clark. The more people know about it, she says, the more calls they’re fielding.
“It’s important for people with disabilities to know that they can turn to a trusted source for accurate information,” Clark said.
DIAL was created in May 2021 and serviced and supported by national disability advocacy groups.
The call center has since been inundated with requests to assist disabled people in getting vaccinated, finding vaccination sites, in-home vaccination availability, educating callers about vaccine information, and overcoming physical or systemic barriers to accessing the vaccine and booster shots.
“Now that the word about us, it’s showing us that there’s a lot more people that have needed this but didn’t necessarily know about it,” Clark said.
The CDC reports that disabled adults were more likely to endorse the vaccine as protection against COVID, but are more likely to report difficulties in getting vaccinated than did adults without a disability.
Some 82.4% of disabled people have at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 85.3% of non-disabled adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among disabled adults over the age of 65, the gap in vaccination widens to about five percentage points.
“The disability community didn’t have a national call center until DIAL was created,” said Sandy Markwood, the CEO of the national disability and elderly advocacy organization USAging. “It focuses primarily on COVID but people are also calling looking for supportive services, which are needed now more than ever.”
The effort was funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living and the CDC but is being run by USAging and other disability advocacy networks such as the National Disability Rights Network, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities and more.
Some 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability, the CDC reports — that’s about 1 in 4 adults who have some type of disability.
Curt Decker, the executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some of the ways that ableism in policies and procedures has impacted access to healthcare and safety for disabled people.
He said that the disabled community is often “left behind” in disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest example of this.
“You’ve really got to think through all the different populations, different needs and design your programs to meet that whole range of people,” said Decker. “Surprise, surprise — here comes a pandemic and we didn’t initially plan how our response is going to impact these very vulnerable populations.”
Disabled people have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic: “the increased risk of poor outcomes from the disease itself, reduced access to routine health care and rehabilitation, and the adverse social impacts of efforts to mitigate the pandemic,” the CDC reports.
The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing oppression on the disabled community. The World Health Organization notes that disabled people are more likely to be older, poorer, and have comorbidities — all of which increase the risk of severe consequences from the virus.
“The disability community is very diverse, with all kinds of disabilities,” Decker said. “Unfortunately, we’ve discovered that there are some people that are just not thinking about the population and what their needs are.”
Markwood says that the lack of access to reliable information and vaccination sites has hampered vaccination efforts among this demographic.
“There was a lot of misinformation about what the impact of vaccines would be on people who had disabilities,” Markwood said.
For people with intellectual disabilities and for people who are immunocompromised to some degree, advocates say that the fear of vaccination, lack of understanding of medical jargon, and lack of communication from doctors on individual health impacts was greatly unaddressed.
Many of the people calling DIAL’s hotline, Clark says, are just looking for information and insight.
“Maybe the initial question would be: ‘where can I get vaccinated?'” Clark said. “Then, it’s the ‘how’ of getting there, getting the transportation. In some cases, people need assistance with getting into the appointment, waiting there, knowing what to expect next, and the peer support that our Centers for Independent Living offer.”
Then come the issue of physically accessing the vaccine.
“If a person is using a wheelchair, will they be able to get to the vaccination site?” Clark said. “If it’s a person who has sensory issues, they might get overwhelmed with a lot of people or a lot of noises or a situation they’re not used to.”
She added, “If they’re trying to get into a spot that you know, wasn’t wheelchair accessible or they they’re a person who needs American Sign Language, but they’re not able to communicate with people there — they could also call us. We’ve trained and prepare people for that.”
Some people with disabilities live in group homes or detention facilities, some cannot verbally communicate, some need transportation or communication assistance, Decker and Markwood said.
Some people are homebound or are under the guardianship of someone who may be against vaccines, they added.
Many factors create hostile or challenging scenarios for the vaccination rollout among disabled patients: if vaccination spots are difficult to travel to or navigate; if at-home vaccine administration is hard to come across; if a care provider or guardian is not adequately relaying accurate information or if medical information is not being understood or if websites and call centers are not disability-friendly.
“We actually went into a group home in one state where the residents wanted to be vaccinated, and the provider wouldn’t do it — so we had to get a mobile unit out there from the local health department could give them access to the vaccine,” Decker said.
CDC states that reducing these barriers to vaccine scheduling and making vaccination sites more accessible “might improve vaccination rates among persons with disabilities.”
The CDC has started acting on this by funding the Administration on Community Living’s efforts to connect with the aging and disabled — which includes backing DIAL.
Considering the ever-increasing demand for DIAL’s services, there is still a clear need for resources to address the needs that are holding disabled people back from vaccination access.
“[Call center users] are so happy that there’s someone to answer the phone because so often they call places and it’s just an automated message,” Clark said. “They are really just happy and grateful that there is someone at the other end of the line that can listen to them and hear their needs and not only hear their needs, but also point them in the right direction.”
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 826,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 03, 3:28 am
South Korea reports first 2 omicron deaths
South Korea on Monday reported the deaths of two patients in their 90s who tested positive for omicron.
Both were receiving treatment in Gwangju, about 200 miles south of Seoul, the semi-official Yonhap News Agency said.
South Korean health officials reported 111 new omicron cases on Monday, bringing its total to 1,318 omicron cases.
About 83% of South Korea’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. About 36% received a booster.
Jan 03, 2:17 am
Israel approves 4th vaccine dose for people 60 and over
Israel’s Ministry of Health approved a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine for health care workers and people over 60 years old, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
“Israel will once again be pioneering the global vaccination effort,” Bennett said at a press conference in Jerusalem. “Omicron is not Delta — it’s a different ball-game altogether.”
Fourth doses will be administered four months after booster shots, Bennett said.
Max Julien, best known for playing Goldie, an ex-con who becomes a big-time Oakland pimp opposite Richard Pryor in the 1973 blaxploitation classic The Mack, died on New Year’s Day at Sherman Oaks Hospital, his wife of 30 years, Arabella, told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 88. The cause of death had not been determined. The Mack has been widely praised, with Quentin Tarantino once writing, “Even including its flaws, The Mack is the best and most memorable crime picture of the whole blaxploitation genre.” Julien also wrote the screenplay for 1973’s Cleopatra Jones, starring Tamara Dobson. His other acting credits included Psych-Out, with Jack Nicholson, Getting Straight, opposite Candice Bergen, and The Mod Squad, among others…
The Kardashian-Jenners revealed the title of their new Hulu show in a teaser released on Friday. “WHEN THE COUNTDOWN TO THE NEW YEAR ENDS…THE COUNTDOWN TO THE NEW SHOW BEGINS,” read a graphic displayed over a black screen, followed by sisters Khloé, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, along with Kendall and Kylie Jenner and their mom Kris Jenner, saying in unison, “Happy New Year, everyone.” The 15-second video closed with the series’ title, which is simply The Kardashians. According to the show’s official synopsis, “The Kardashian / Jenner family bring their exciting next chapter to Hulu in this new, intimate journey into their lives”…
Peaky Blinders rang in the new year on Saturday by dropping the official trailer for the acclaimed period drama’s sixth and final season. Cillian Murphy returns as Tommy Shelby, seeking a means for the titular Birmingham-based family to finally rest. Tom Hardy, Paul Anderson, Finn Cole, Anya Taylor-Joy and Sophie Rundle are also back, along with Stephen Graham. Co-star Helen McCrory died this past April, however the fate of her character, Aunt Polly, is not revealed in the clip. An air date also has not yet to be announced, although it has been teased for early 2022. The BBC series airs on Netflix stateside…
Music composer and producer Stephen J. Lawrence, whose credits included 1972’s Free to Be… You and Me, as well as a prolific run on Sesame Street, died on Thursday at Clara Maas Medical Center in Belleville, New Jersey, his wife Cantor Cathy Lawrence tells Variety. He was 82. Lawrence served as as musical director and co-producer on Free to Be… You and Me, and wrote the album’s title song, as well as the tracks “When We Grow Up” and “Sisters and Brothers.” Lawrence was a music director, arranger and conductor on Sesame Street for over 30 years, composing over 300 songs and scores for the program while winning three Daytime Emmy awards for outstanding achievement in music direction and composition along the way. Lawrence’s numerous other credits also include composing the score for the 1973 film Bang the Drum Slowly…
(WASHINGTON) — One year after a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the halls of Congress — sending lawmakers fleeing and leaving the building ransacked — the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police expressed confidence in an interview with ABC News that his force would be able to effectively prevent any similar kind of attack on the nation’s legislative branch from happening again.
“I believe we can, and I don’t say that as a challenge to anybody, ” Chief Tom Manger said in a new interview with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. “But I do believe we can. I mean, one, when you look at what went wrong on [Jan. 6], we didn’t have enough people, there were training issues, equipment issues. You know, there were things that we — that with regard to intelligence that we probably should have addressed, but we didn’t.”
“Those issues have been addressed,” Manger said.
A bipartisan report on the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol released by the Senate Homeland Security Committee in June showed there were widespread security failures on the part of the Capitol Police and law enforcement.
The intelligence division of the Capitol Police ”knew from online posts of a plot to breach the Capitol and posts that contained Capitol Complex maps of the tunnel systems, yet did not convey the full scope of known information to USCP leadership, rank-and-file officers or law enforcement partners,” the report found.
A comprehensive review of police officer body camera footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol found roughly 1,000 instances of assault against members of law enforcement who were trying to protect the building, according to Department of Justice court filings. Approximately 140 officers suffered injuries as they battled for hours with the pro-Trump mob, and, according to Manger, some are still unable to return to regular duties.
While some officers were back the next day “even though they were hurting and they’ve worked every day since that,” Manger said, “We’ve had some officers that have been out because of their injuries. The healing process is happening, and we’re doing everything we can to provide assistance to these officers. What we had in place prior to Jan. 6 for employee wellness and employee assistance is minuscule compared to what we have in place today.”
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, a Capitol Police officer who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, recently tweeted a photo of injuries he said he sustained in the attack and repudiated those who have since sought to minimize the seriousness of the insurrection.
“To some, my efforts and injuries are just an exaggeration,” he tweeted along with a bruised foot and hand. “THEY did this to me. This why it matters to me and should matters to you.”
Manger said he is “concerned” about some of the lessons he feels people around the country seem to have taken away from the Jan. 6 attack.
“I think there’s a lot of folks that in our country, regrettably, in my opinion, that if they have disagreements with someone else, political disagreements or just disagreements about anything, that instead of having a civil conversation about something, if you disagree with me, then you’re my enemy,” Manger said. “And if you’re my enemy, I can hurt you. I mean this — I don’t know how this, this notion, you know, became so acceptable to so many people, but that that really is what concerns me the most.”
Manger, who was retired from a more than four-decade career in law enforcement at the time of the Capitol assault, told ABC News the department is still facing issues with its staffing levels despite what he called an “apparent” bump in recruitment interest from those like himself who watched the insurrection unfold.
“We’ve had no trouble recruiting people to join the Capital Police Department,” the chief said. “Of course, our challenge is to make sure we’re hiring the right people in terms of our staffing. We are right now probably at least 200 people down from where we were a couple of years ago, and we’re about 400 people down from where we should be.”
Assessing the current threats leading up to the one-year anniversary of Jan. 6, Manger told ABC News that he has seen no indication of any significant demonstrations that would be a cause for concern. However, he stressed that if that changes, Capitol Police are more than capable of quickly putting up the steel fencing around the complex to guard against any potential threats.
“I’m going to be very judicious about recommending that we put the fence up for anything,” Manger said. “There’s nothing that I’m hearing now that’s of concern. There’s a lot, of course, a lot of chatter about Jan. 6, but so far I’m not aware of any big demonstrations that are going to be here.”
