95.1 The Bee

Pfizer said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine is effective for children ages 5 to 11, and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose, equal to a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now.  However after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults said Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president. The children’s dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects — such as sore arms, fever or lethargy — that teens experience, he said.  Dr. Gruber said the companies aim to apply to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month for emergency use in this age group, followed shortly afterward with applications to European and British regulators.

While kids are at lower risk of severe illness or death than older people, more than 5 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began and at least 460 have died, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cases in children have risen dramatically as the Delta variant swept through the country.

Editorial credit: cortex-film / Shutterstock.com

The White House announced Monday that the U.S. will begin allowing foreign travelers into the country in November if they provide proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. The new policy will replace various restrictions that have been in effect since last year, which barred U.S. entry for foreign travelers if they’d spent any of the previous 14 days in Britain, the European Union, China, India, Iran, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa.

Under the new policy, foreign travelers will be required to show proof of vaccination before they board a U.S.-bound flight and a negative coronavirus test no older than three days. Vaccinated U.S. residents traveling abroad will also need to show a negative test to return — and unvaccinated Americans will have to test one day before their flight, and must test again once they return.

Authorities said a body discovered in northern Wyoming is believed to be that of 22-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, who disappeared while on a cross-country trek with her boyfriend. The FBI said the body of Petito was found Sunday by law enforcement agents who spent the weekend searching camp sites on the eastern border of Grand Teton National Park. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Charles Jones said the cause of death not yet been determined, and the specifics on where and how the body was found were not disclosed. Jones said investigators were still seeking information from anyone who may have seen Petito or Laundrie around camping sites in the area of Spread Creek, where law enforcement search efforts focused over the weekend.

Boyfiend Brian Laundrie, 23, has been identified as a person of interest in the case. He was last seen Tuesday by family members in Florida, and now the subject of an intense search in a Florida nature preserve. More than 50 law enforcement officers on Sunday started a second day of searching for Laundrie at the more than 24,000-acre (9,712-hectare) Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, Florida, a wildlife area with more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of trails, as well as campgrounds.

Petito and Laundrie left in July on a cross-country trek in a converted van to visit national parks in the U.S. West. The couple’s trek in the Ford Transit began from Long Island, and they intended to reach Oregon by the end of October, according to their social media accounts. However, Petito vanished after her last known contact with family in late August from Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Laundrie was alone when he drove the van back to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, on Sept. 1, police said. Petito’s family filed a missing persons report Sept. 11 with police in Suffolk County, New York.