The state reports almost 11-thousand new COVID -19 cases today, which includes numbers from the weekend. The state says new cases in ages 5 to 17 made up the highest rate of new cases per 100-thousand of any age group over the last week, which is a first for the state. Hospitalizations remained below 3,000 at 2,838 in which 91-percent are unvaccinated.
The FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer COVID vaccine today, which also allows local governments and universities to issue vaccine mandates. Tulane School of Medicine Epidemiologist Dr. Susan Hassig says there’s plenty of the Pfizer vaccine available in the US.
She expects the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines to receive full FDA approval also.
13-year New Orleans Police Officer Everett Briscoe was fatally shot Saturday at a Houston restaurant during an apparent stick-up. Matt Doyle has the story.
Now that the FDA has given full approval to the Pfizer COVID vaccination nearly 40-thousand state employees could be facing the choice of vaccination or regular testing. Governor John Bel Edwards announced last week that once a vaccine receives full approval the state will implement stricter testing requirements for employees.