INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Dr. Jerome Adams, WISH-TV’s medical expert and a former U.S. surgeon general, talked Tuesday about the latest coronavirus news as well as the latest news on baby formula and the potential for the Indianapolis 500 being a superspreader event.
The first topic was about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving vaccine boosters for children ages 5-12 years old.
Adams said, “The FDA says you should wait five months after your last dose, your second dose of the Pfizer vaccine that you got previously to get that booster dose. I do recommend that the parents get it. If you’ve already gotten the two, get the third it will significantly lower the chance of infection, it will slightly increase protection that your child has against hospitalization and death. Again, it’s something that I’ve done for my own family. As far as under five, that’s a separate conversation. We know Moderna submitted their data to the FDA, It’s under review right now. The best guess that we have is mid to late June that the FDA will have a decision about the Moderna data. The Pfizer data for vaccinating kids under five still hasn’t been submitted yet, so we’re still in the dark as far as where Pfizer is, but Moderna parents are hoping for mid to late June, you know, in the next three to six weeks we’ll get an answer.”
White House schedules COVID-19 briefing for Wednesday
Adams noted that we are in the midst of another surge of cases.
“Well, we are in the midst of another surge of cases. We’re seeing cases go up precipitously. We’re starting to see hospitalizations creep up also. Not to the degree that we had previous surges thus far. Presumably because many more people have some degree of immunity from prior infection, and many more people have gotten vaccinated and boosted. I think the White House is going to talk about that increase in cases. They are going to talk about the fact they predict that we’re going to see significant numbers of infections in the fall, and they’re going to talk about the measures that they have undertaken to help people protect themselves. They just released another round of free tests, so you can go to covid.gov and get another eight tests. If you’ve already gotten your previous eights tests, it’s good to keep them around the house in case you have symptoms, in case you’re traveling, in case you’re going to visit someone who’s vulnerable. All sorts of good reasons to have a free antigen test around the house,” Adams said.
Will Indianapolis 500 Carb Day be a superspreader event?
Adams said, “Well, we know with cases going up and people coming together because the virus is going to spread, there’s absolutely going to be spread that goes on at the race and at Carb Day. So what I want people to know is how to best protect themselves. Access your own personal risk, understand whether or not you have comorbidities, obesity, whether or not you’ve got lung issues, whether or not you’ve got high blood pressure, the things that put you at higher risk for a negative outcome from COVID, or whether you’re living with someone who’s immunocompromised that you don’t want to take infection to. If that’s the case, don’t go. If you decide to go, consider wearing a mask when you’re in crowded spaces, and please, make sure you get vaccinated. That’s the best protection, vaccination and boosting that you can take to protect yourself. I go to events myself. I’m vaccinated and boosted, and when I’m close to people I wear a mask, so that what I’m mitigating that risk to myself and my family.”
US allows more baby formula imports to fight shortage
“Well we know that there are shortages and in some places severe shortages of formula for parents because of supply chain issues, and because of a recall that happened. They’re working on it, right now we want parents to understand you should not dilute your baby’s formula because it can change the nutrients that they’re getting in the electrolytes that they’re getting. You should not order formula online if you don’t know that the source is reputable because there is a counterfeit formula out there. Talk to your doctor, talk to your provider. The good news is the Biden Administration is going to try to lower the cost for people so that they can switch over to different formulas, and some women can actually increase their breastfeeding. Also, it’s not an option for all women because breastfeeding is tough and it’s not an on-off switch, but there are lots of options out there to get you through this shortage. Just make sure you talk to your health provider, don’t do something that could harm your baby,” Adams said.