As of Tuesday, November 2, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now recommends that pediatric vaccinations be administered to children ages five to 11.
According to a statement released by the CDC, “COVID-19 vaccines have undergone – and will continue to undergo – the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. Vaccinating children will help protect them from getting COVID-19 and therefore reducing their risk of severe disease, hospitalizations, or developing long-term COVID-19 complications. Getting your children vaccinated can help protect them against COVID-19, as well as reduce disruptions to in-person learning and activities by helping curb community transmission.”
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., M.P.H. further stated, “Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19. We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine. As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated.”
To promote vaccinations within this age group, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, during his Friday, November 5 coronavirus response media-briefing, announced that $150 school vouchers will be made available to grandfamilies of vaccinated children, through the “Healthy Grandfamilies” vaccination program.
As explained in a statement released by the governor’s office, “The Healthy Grandfamilies vaccination incentive program offers a $150 voucher for school supplies to all vaccinated grandfamilies in West Virginia – families where grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.
To qualify, all vaccine-eligible members of the grandfamilies, including grandparents and grandchildren ages 5 and older, must have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The family must also be enrolled in West Virginia State University’s Healthy Grandfamilies program. Enroll at healthygrandfamilies.com.”
Also during Friday’s briefing, Justice discussed his opposition to the new federal policy which mandates that certain American workers be vaccinated as a condition of continued employment. The new policy, which was approved by the Biden administration on Thursday, November 4, requires that employers of 100 or more workers ensure that each employee is either fully vaccinated, or tested weekly for COVID-19. The Biden policy deviates yet supersedes the legislation passed in West Virginia preventing those refusing to be vaccinated from having their employment terminated.
“While I adamantly disagree with what’s going on with the Biden administration in regard to this, it is a federal requirement and would trump the state law that we sent up and the Legislature passed forbidding people from being terminated from their jobs for not being vaccinated if they had religious or medical exemptions,” Justice said. “I think with all in me that we should absolutely be respectful of people’s freedom of choice.”
“Now, do I really believe that you ought to get vaccinated? Of course I do. I’ve said it over and over,” Justice further stated. “Do I believe that it enhances your odds of not getting sick and phenomenally enhances them from the standpoint of the potential of death? Of course it does. But we still should abide by our Constitution. It should be a choice of the people.”
President Biden’s policy, which will be facilitated through the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
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