Florida reports 71,797 new COVID cases as White House plans for vaccine for kids under 5

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Biden administration is planning to roll out COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 this month, if federal regulators authorize them, officials said this week.

The Food and Drug Administration’s outside panel of advisers is expected to meet June 14-15 to evaluate Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger kids. If approved, the White House believes those first shots could become available as soon as June 21.

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The vaccine would be available at doctors’ offices and pediatric care facilities. The administration says it has an initial supply of 10 million doses available. If it goes as planned, the dosing schedule would be spread out so parents can have their children fully vaccinated in time for the next school year.

The Biden administration is pressing states to prioritize large-volume sites like children’s hospitals, and to make appointments available outside regular work hours to make it easier for parents to get their kids vaccinated.

Pfizer said it is planning a three-dose COVID vaccine schedule for children younger than 5, while Moderna is planning a two-dose schedule. Pfizer says its low-dose shot represents about a tenth of what adults receive when they get the vaccine.

Children under 5 are the only group left in the U.S. that are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The seven-day average of new cases is at 100,683. Hospitalizations are also up to a seven-day average of 3,789 patients. Deaths continue to remain low, with the seven-day average of new deaths at 244.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the CDC and the state on June 3:

Cases

The CDC reported 14,045 new cases on Friday, based on daily reporting it gets from the Florida Department of Health.

There were 138,622 new coronavirus cases over the last two weeks broken down as 66,825 this week and 71,797 for the week prior.

Florida has seen 6,196,905 cases since the virus was first detected on March 1, 2020.

Deaths

The Florida Department of Health reported a cumulative death toll in Florida of 74,590. There were 260 fatalities recorded over the past two weeks, which we get by subtracting the number of deaths reported by DOH two weeks ago (74,330) from the current cumulative death toll.

The state stopped reporting the number of non-residents who died in Florida when the new weekly reporting method began.

Hospitalizations

The state Agency for Health Care Administration deleted its current COVID-19 hospitalization database and the state is no longer reporting how many patients have been hospitalized with the virus. However, Florida is still required to report that information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CDC continues to release that information online. The most recent hospital numbers show 2,435 adult and 66 pediatric patients in Florida.

Positivity rate

The Florida Department of Health reported the percent of positive results from coronavirus tests was 16.2% for the weeks of May 20-June 3 but did not provide how many people were tested during the past two weeks. Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove a community has a hold of the virus and is curbing infections.

Below is the Central Florida region breakdown of new cases and new vaccination numbers between May 20-June 3.

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