by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved COVID-19 vaccine boosters for Americans who received either the Moderna or the Johnson & Johnson shot and said anyone eligible for the extra dose can get the booster in a brand different from the one they initially received.

The U.S. regulator’s move was highly anticipated and could significantly impact the nation’s effort to reach herd immunity, but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to decide who will be eligible for the booster.

The FDA authorized a third Moderna dose, at least six months after they received the second, for seniors, people with underlying health conditions and those at high risk of contacting the virus because of their work or living situations.

All Americans, regardless of age, who received the J&J single shot should get a booster at least two months after their first dose.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it plans to get children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated as early as next month. Federal regulators are set to recommend vaccinating younger children once the benefits of such a program are released later this month. Pfizer has studied the vaccine in 2,000 children and said they developed immunity levels similar to those of older children. The dose given to younger children would be one-third as strong as that given to those 12 and older.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 1,267 new infections and 31 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total to 1,480,656 cases and 26,473 deaths.

There are 635 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 28% of whom are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 8,925,000 individuals with 15% of people testing positive and the current test positivity rate is 0.9%.

Based on information from the Department of Public Health’s website, the COURIER reported last week that six residents at Pilgrim Place’s independent living community had tested positive. However, this outbreak occurred in early September and there have been no new cases at the retirement community since.

“All resident and staff members have gone through two rounds of testing with 100% negative results. The Department of Public Health removed Pilgrim Place from any kind of quarantine on September 30, 2021. As of this date, we continue to have no positive results within the community,” according to Jennifer Tomes, director of marketing and communication at Pilgrim Place.

The COURIER regrets any confusion this may have caused.

Sadly, public health reports two additional Claremont residents have died from COVID-19 this week bringing the city’s total to 65. The county recorded 23 new infections in Claremont, for a cumulative total of 2,917.