The next couple of weeks will tell whether the U.S. will begin to offer coronavirus booster shots to its population, Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, told the television show \u201cFox News Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a concern that the vaccine may start to wane in its effectiveness,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
Healthcare workers, nursing home residents and other older people would be the first in line to receive the booster shots, according to the NIH director.<\/p>\n
The delta strain of the coronavirus is driving up the COVID caseload in the U.S. to approximately 129,000 new infections a day, a 700% increase from the beginning of July. Collins said the case load could jump to as many as 200,000 a day, rivaling the worst days of the COVID outbreak in January and February.<\/p>\n
Collins also said people who have not yet been vaccinated are \u201csitting ducks\u201d and urged them to get the COVID vaccine as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps across the country.<\/p>\n
If data indicates that a booster is needed, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation\u2019s chief epidemiologist, told \u201cFace the Nation\u201d on CBS Sunday that the country \u201cwill be absolutely prepared\u201d to deliver the inoculations \u201cvery quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. has recorded more COVID cases than anyplace else in the world at 36.7 million cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.<\/p>\n
Australia has procured one million Pfizer vaccine doses from Poland. More than half of the vaccines are slated for 20-to 39-year-olds in New South Wales in 12 local government areas that have had COVID outbreaks. The rest of the vaccines \u201cwill be distributed on a per capita basis to other states and territories,\u201d the government said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrphanhood and caregiver deaths are a hidden pandemic resulting from COVID-19-associated deaths,\u201d the international medical journal\u00a0The Lancet<\/em>\u00a0has reported.<\/p>\n \u201cAccelerating equitable vaccine delivery is key to prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lancet\u00a0<\/em>report said that globally, from March 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, its researchers estimate that 1,134,000 children \u201cexperienced the death of primary caregivers, including at least one parent or custodial grandparent.\u201d \u00a0In addition, it is estimated that \u201c1,562,000 children \u2026 experienced the death of at least one primary or secondary caregiver.\u201d<\/p>\n