Though things look back to normal, Louisiana isn’t out of the COVID woods just yet. After seeing numbers fall for the past several weeks, 114 people were hospitalized due to the virus as of Wednesday…the highest figure in the state since March 24. Speaking with Jim Engster on Ask the Governor, John Bel Edwards expressed his concern with the rise…
“It was just several weeks ago, that we were around one percent of our tests coming back positive,” said Edwards. “Today’s tests are right at nine percent. This is still a small number, but our trajectory is certainly increasing.”
Despite those concerns, Edwards says the Louisiana Department of Health has removed the COVID-19 vaccine as a requirement for elementary and secondary school students, citing a lack of full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
“(LDH) fully expected the FDA would have given full licensure to the vaccines for more kids, but it’s still only applicable to 16 and 17-year-olds,” he stated.
Though the COVID vaccine will not be on the schedule this fall, Governor Edwards and the LDH are still in agreement with the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations that all children between the ages of five and 17 get vaccinated.
“We still do strongly reaffirm the recommendation, the official recommendation of LDH that all eligible children do receive the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves, their families, plus any boosters,” the governor said.
According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death among children ages 5-14 and individuals between 15-24 as recently as January of this year.
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