14 kids received wrong COVID-19 vaccine dose at Bay Area clinic
ANTIOCH, Calif. — Fourteen children received an incorrect dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine over the weekend at a Sutter Health pediatric clinic here, the health system reported.
Instead of receiving the appropriate dose for 5 to 11-year-olds, the affected kids — who were all vaccinated on Saturday — received about two-thirds of a dose meant for a 12-year-old, a spokesperson said. The doses contained an incorrect amount of diluent, a diluting agent that is added to vaccines on-site the same day they’re administered.
“As soon as we learned of this, we contacted the parents and advised them of CDC guidance in this situation,” said Dr. Jimmy Hu, chair of the Sutter Health COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, in a statement. “The safety of our patients is our top priority, and we immediately reviewed our processes to help make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children who receive vaccines with the wrong amount of diluent may experience more side effects, including arm soreness, fatigue and a fever.
Earlier this month, more than 100 children at a Virginia pharmacy received an incorrect dose of the vaccine when health officials gave them one-tenth of the formulation of the vaccine intended for adults, the Charlotte Observer reported, even though CDC has said that adult and children dosages are “not interchangeable.”
—The Mercury News (San Jose)
Michigan leads the nation in new COVID-19 cases, CDC says
DETROIT — Michigan leads the nation in new COVID-19 cases per population over the last seven days, according to tracking data updated Tuesday afternoon from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Michigan has reported a seven-day new case rate of 504 per 100,000 residents, the highest number of any state, the CDC found. Second place was Minnesota at 490. The figures are another setback in the state's 20-month fight against the virus and came as Michigan has experienced spikes in new infections and hospitalizations over the last two weeks.
Michigan last led the nation in new cases per population in the spring during a surge that peaked in April.
During a Tuesday news conference, nine days before the Thanksgiving holiday, Henry Ford Health System officials described the trends in COVID-19 as "very alarming."
Michigan reported 3,040 adults hospitalized with the virus on Monday, the largest number since late April and a 19% increase over the tally seven days ago.
"We are gravely concerned," said Dr. Adnan Munkarah, the chief clinical officer for the Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System. "We were hoping that we would be in a better situation this Thanksgiving than we were last year, especially with the availability of the vaccines.
—The Detroit News
Ex-officer's trial set in killing of Black woman in her Texas home
FORT WORTH, Texas — At a hearing Tuesday morning, a judge scheduled the murder trial of former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean for January.
Dean was charged with murder after fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, through a window while responding to a call about doors being open at her home in October 2019. Jefferson was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew when she thought she heard a prowler in the back yard, grabbed a handgun, and looked out the window, authorities have said. Dean, who is white, did not identify himself as a police officer and shot Jefferson within seconds, according to body-camera video.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Jan. 4, with the trial beginning Jan. 10, Judge David Hagerman said at Tuesday’s hearing in Tarrant County’s 297th District Court.
The judge indicated a change of venue motion is expected to be filed. That and any other motions in the case will be heard the week of Dec. 6. The deadline for attorneys to file motions in the case is Nov. 30.
Pressure has been mounting in the community for a trial date to be set more than two years after Jefferson’s death. The earliest the case could have been tried was Nov. 29. Prosecutors said Tuesday that they are ready for trial, but defense attorneys said they are not.
Hagerman, who has more than 50 cases on his docket, said he will continue to follow the state’s code of criminal procedure, which explains how trials should be prioritized.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ethics panel rescinds approval of Cuomo’s pandemic book deal
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s ethics panel voted Tuesday to rescind approval of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $5.1 million book deal.
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics approved a resolution by a 12-1 vote reversing a decision made by staff last year allowing the disgraced governor to profit from his COVID-themed book.
The decision comes amid allegations Cuomo used state resources and staff to help write and promote the memoir. The former governor has maintained that aides assisted him on a voluntary basis.
In recent months, after Cuomo’s August resignation following sexual harassment allegations and an impending impeachment, JCOPE’s commissioners held several votes on controversies surrounding the book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Members initially voted not to look back into the book deal and its approval. However, that changed as the commission’s chairman stepped down and Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed new members to the embattled ethics watchdog.
The vote means Cuomo will have to reapply for approval. If denied, he could face penalties and could even have to relinquish some of the millions in profit he’s already made off of the book.
Cuomo said he pocketed $1.5 million on the book last year. He donated $500,000 of that money to the United Way of New York State and the rest was placed into a trust for his three daughters.
—New York Daily News
