Monday, November 8 top stories
It is Monday, November 8. I will share three top news briefs, and then show you an interview with a deaf pediatrician about Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccines for those ages 5-11.
On Friday evening, eight people died during Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The deaths are blamed on crowd surges. Two of those who died were only 14 and 16 years of age, while six others’ ages ranged from 20 to 27.
Travis Scott issued a statement in which he said he is absolutely devastated by what happened. He announced that he would cover the funeral expenses for the victims.
There is a lot of criticism on Scott because he continued to perform as emergency personnel tried to give CPR and carry out the injured. The music continued for 37 minutes after a “mass casualty” was declared. But it is not clear if Scott was aware of the severity of the situation. Witnesses said the crowds were pushing back and forth and people were passing out because they couldn’t breathe. People were seen jumping on ambulances with disregard for those who were injured. There are videos of fans climbing up on platforms where a cameraperson was to beg them to stop the show, but they were ignored.
Law enforcement said they are investigating what went wrong. There have already been several lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and other festival organizers.
The House passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in a 228-206 bipartisan vote. The Senate passed the bill in August, and it’s been clogged up in the House in the past months because of divisions within the Democratic Party. Now the bill will go to President Joe Biden’s desk, and when he signs it, it’ll be a major victory for the Biden administration.
The bill will provide massive investments in roads, bridges, waterways, airports, electric grids, rail services, broadband, and other infrastructure projects.
Today is the day that the U.S. is ending its travel ban for foreigners from 33 countries and on its land borders with Canada and Mexico because of concerns with coronavirus. The ban was in place for 18 months. The U.S. requires air travelers to show proof of full vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test within three days of travel. For land border crossings, there is no testing requirement — only proof of vaccination. The New York Times said there were many travelers from Brazil who were overjoyed to see their families in the U.S. and that many Canadians are now traveling to Florida, Arizona, and California to enjoy the warmer weather.
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Alex: Hello! Good morning, Dr. Zach Featherstone.
Dr. Featherstone: Good morning!
Alex: You are currently a Deaf pediatrician in Las Vegas.
Dr. Featherstone: Right.
Alex: I want to ask you some questions about the Pfizer vaccine and its recent approval. The CDC and FDA approved it for emergency use for children from ages 5 to 11. The trials showed that it is 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 infection. I’m curious, do you recommend all parents or guardians to vaccinate their children from ages 5 to 11 going forward?
Dr. Featherstone: Absolutely, yes. All parents and guardians who have children, you are encouraged to give your child the Covid-19 vaccine. I have no hesitation about this. I’ve researched all the statistics and new studies done in different countries that tested about two thousand different children ages 5-11 all over the world, and no serious issues have emerged in that group. I understand that Pfizer is effective. 2,000 is a large number, but it doesn’t mean it can predict everything for everyone, but we already have the numbers from all people above the age of 12. Millions, millions and millions have already been vaccinated and only a few have experienced bad effects. I have no doubt. I will vaccinate my kid, too.
Alex: It’s said that there is low risk, but one potential serious side effect is heart inflammation or inflammation around the heart. I wonder… Can you explain the risks that parents might feel concerned about?
Dr. Feathersone: Great question. I saw three or four cases myself last year, mostly in teenagers. Myocarditis has appeared in about 800 cases all over the country, and that is from millions and millions of teenagers older than 12 who got the vaccine. As for those under the age of 30 who have gotten vaccinated, zero people have died from myocarditis as a result of the vaccine. Those who got myocarditis will go to the hospital for usually three or four days for observation to make sure everything is ok. We usually just give them ibuprofen, but death or severe illness is not common at all. So, I don’t really have concerns about that. It’s just an unfortunate side effect. It doesn’t mean that’s not serious. We just have to make sure we have to keep an eye on it.
Alex: I’m sure that the risk of getting Covid-19 is more damaging to the body than the risk of myocarditis.
Dr. Featherstone: Absolutely.
Alex: Covid-19 is more dangerous.
Alex: Thank you for your time, and keep up the good work with patients in the Las Vegas area!
Dr. Featherstone: Thank you!
Alex: Thank you so much.
That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://heavy.com/news/houston/astroworld-festival-concert-houston-victim-names-photos/
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/08/1053425095/astroworld-festival-travis-scott-concert
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/08/us/astroworld-festival-crowd-surge-timeline/index.html
https://www.axios.com/house-approves-infrastructure-bill-36cc16f0-480e-402a-a260-ff17976184f7.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/08/world/coronavirus-covid-vaccines