A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel was expected to meet later Friday to ratify the FDA decision, Bryan Sears reports in the Daily Record. Food and Drug Administration to approve booster doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for adults. Hogan announced the expansion of eligibility following a decision by the U.S.Larry Hogan Friday gave the OK for all vaccinated adults over age 18 to get COVID-19 booster doses, saying more coverage is needed ahead of the upcoming winter holidays, Hallie Miller and Meredith Cohn report in the Sun.
HOGAN OKs BOOSTERS FOR ALL ADULTS: Ahead of full federal authorization, Maryland Gov.
Vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds made up 44% of all vaccinations statewide since Nov. Nearly 80,000 children, or 15% of those in that age group, have gotten their first doses. State Secretary of Health Dennis Schrader estimated there are 518,000 children in Maryland that age. The article appears in Maryland Reporter.
SCHOOLS AGREE TO HOLD KIDS VAXX CLINICS: Rachel Logan of Capital News Service reports that over two weeks into vaccine eligibility for 5- to 11-year-olds, all local school and health systems in Maryland have agreed to facilitate clinics, and vaccination rates are climbing. Maryland ranked among the worst states for child victims in the country, in 44th place, Jessica Contrera reports in the Post.
MARYLAND RANKS 44 th FOR PROTECTING CHILDREN IN SEX TRAFFICKING: Nearly every year for the past decade, a prominent anti-trafficking organization has handed out a “report card” assigning each state a grade on its laws to protect victims of child sex trafficking to motivate legislators to pass bills that ensure children sold for sex are not treated as criminals but as victims in need of services. Census Bureau and the state of Maryland shows that there is still room for improvement. STUDY: 2018 VOTE CREATED MOST DIVERSE LEGISLATURE: Devon Milley and Clara Niel of Capital News Service report that following the 2018 Maryland General Assembly elections, the state legislature became the most diverse and representative of the state’s general population it has ever been, but data collected from the U.S. The latest numbers mean that the state’s unemployment rate is at its lowest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic more than 20 months ago. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday morning, reports Bryan Renbaum for Maryland Reporter. MARYLAND GAINS ALMOST 15,000 JOBS IN OCTOBER: Maryland’s economy gained 14,900 jobs in October and the state’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.9% to 5.7%, according to preliminary data released by the U.S.