COVID-19 updates
On Dec. 17, Pfizer announced that its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series didn’t trigger a strong enough immune response in children ages 2 to 5 years. It will test a three-dose series and companies are expected to turn over results to regulators in early 2022.
The United States is lagging behind when it comes to getting boosted. With the Omicron variant in full swing, only 30% of fully-vaccinated Americans are boosted. Further, only 1 in 6 Americans has received a booster. Health officials are urging people to get the booster because the Omicron strain has managed to break the immunity defense that the two-dose series gives.
Henry Orenstein dies
Henry Orenstein, the Holocaust survivor who persuaded the Hasbro toy company to start its iconic line of Transformers toys, died on Dec. 14 at a hospital in Livingston, New Jersey. He was 98, and his wife Susie Orenstein said that the cause of death was COVID-19.
Super Typhoon Rai kills over 140 in the Phillippines
More than 140 people are believed to be killed by Super Typhoon Rai that hit the Phillippines on Dec. 16. The New York Times reported that about half these deaths occurred in the island province of Bohol in the central Visayas region. Super Typhoon Rai exited the islands on Dec. 18 and was comparable to a Category 5 Hurricane in the United States.
