Thursday morning news - November 4, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Kids vaccination drive kicks off » Healthcare providers are now administering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to young children.

Children between the ages 5 and 11 received their first shots Wednesday just hours after the CDC granted final emergency use authorization.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky spoke yesterday to parents who might be nervous about their children getting the kid-size doses.

WALENSKY: We have done our due diligence. Please know we have thoroughly reviewed all of the available safety, immunogenicity and efficacy data before recommending this vaccine for your child.

Some parents are relieved the shots are now available for young kids. Minivans lined up with children whose parents wanted them to get vaccinated before school Wednesday morning.

But a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed two-thirds of the roughly 1,500 parents polled plan to wait or refuse vaccines for their kids. Several said they want more research about possible long-term effects and risks.

As for the known short-term side effects, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi says they’re pretty mild.

CHOKSHI: Arm pain, some fatigue, some headaches, some body aches; very similar to what we have seen with vaccination in adults, although the side effects appear to be more mild in children.

Since the pandemic started, more than 8,300 children have been hospitalized for COVID-19, and 94 have died. Serious infection is rare in young children, though roughly 5,000 have contracted an inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus infection.

Gov. Murphy declared winner of NJ election » Gov. Phil Murphy appears to have won reelection in New Jersey.

The vote was too close to call on Tuesday night. And the margin remained razor thin on Wednesday.

With about 90 percent of the votes counted last night, the Democratic governor led by about 1 percentage point. But most of the outstanding ballots were in solidly blue areas, leading political analysts to call the race for Murphy.

But Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli said he’s not ready to call it quits.

CIATTARELLI: We want every legal vote counted.

But even if one assumes Murphy’s victory, still, Ciattarelli gave New Jersey Democrats quite a scare. And that, coupled with Tuesday’s GOP win in Virginia’s gubernatorial race could signal a rough climate for Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.

High court seems ready to strike down New York gun law » The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed ready to strike down a restrictive New York gun permit law.

Chief Justice John Roberts questioned why Second Amendment rights should be treated so differently from First Amendment rights.

ROBERTS: You don’t have to say when you’re looking for a permit to speak on a street corner or whatever that your speech is particularly important. So why do you have to show in this case, convince somebody, that you’re entitled to exercise your Second Amendment right?

He said “The idea that you would need a license to exercise a right is unusual with regard to the Bill of Rights.”

Roberts and the court’s conservative justices expressed concerns about the law. But the justices also seemed worried that a broad ruling could threaten gun restrictions on subways, bars, stadiums and other gathering places.

About half a dozen states restrict the carrying of guns to those who can demonstrate a particular need for doing so. The justices could decide whether those laws can stand.

Fed announces rollback of stimulus measures as inflation persists » With inflation on the rise, the Federal Reserve will begin dialing back the extraordinary stimulus it's provided since the pandemic erupted last year.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell announced Wednesday ...

POWELL: Beginning later this month we will reduce the monthly pace of our net asset purchases by $10 billion for Treasury securities and $5 billion for agency mortgage backed securities.

Those purchases were designed to hold down long-term interest rates to spur borrowing and spending. With the economy recovering, that's no longer needed.

But Powell said the Fed is keeping interest rates close to zero.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of surging prices across the economy — in food, rent, auto, and many other necessities.

The Fed has conceded that inflation now seems likely to last longer than it anticipated. Powell said the unusual circumstances surrounding the pandemic have made things hard to predict. And he added—quote—“We're learning now we have to be humble about what we know about this economy.”

Georgia sues Biden administration over contractor COVID-19 vaccine mandate » Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is taking aim at President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. His state has joined several others in suing the Biden administration over a mandate for federal contractors.

At a news conference Wednesday, Kemp told reporters that the White House is overstepping its authority.

KEMP: After telling Americans in July of 2021 that it was not the role of the federal government to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, the Biden administration is now forcing hard-working Georgians to choose between their livelihoods and a vaccine.

Democrats have called the litigation a “dangerous political stunt.”

Georgia brought the suit in tandem with Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia. It target’s President Biden’s executive order requiring vaccinations for all federal executive branch employees and contractors.

Florida has also filed a similar lawsuit.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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