This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for October 27th, 2021.

As expected, FDA advisors unanimously voted to endorse the Pfizer vaccine for kids five to 11. Federal authorization could come in the next few days. The pediatric version would be equal to a third of an adult dose. The panel said the benefits outweigh the risks that include a rare heart-related side effect seen in teens and young adults.

Things continue to look rough in Eastern Europe. The daily number of deaths in Russia hit another high yesterday even as most Russians stayed home from work this week. Ukraine and Bulgaria also reported record daily death tolls. In addition to closures, Russian authorities have strengthened enforcement of mask mandates. Further to the west, the Belgian government has reimposed some restrictions that were relaxed just a few weeks ago as hospitalizations increased 69%.

In the U.S., emergency rooms are slammed, but not with COVID patients. A secondary health crisis caused by the pandemic are all the people who put off seeking care for other issues, but who are now coming in even worse off. Many wind up on stretchers lining hallways for hours with plenty of noise and foot traffic going by.

Here’s a story about at least an attempt to return to normalcy. Louisiana is ending its statewide indoor mask mandate after seeing a sharp decline in new infections. However, the Governor is keeping some masking rules in place for the state’s K-12 schools. LSU said it’s keeping its indoor mask mandate no matter what the state says, and New Orleans indicated it also may not follow the Governor’s lead.

A report from the American Psychological Association says stress from the pandemic has people struggling to make even small decisions. Almost a third of adults question even basic day-to-day choices like what to eat or wear. It’s especially a problem for parents and Millennials. And there are problems making big decisions too, with 61% saying the pandemic has made them question how they’ve been living their lives.

In the United States cases were down 22%, deaths are down 11%, and hospitalizations are down 19% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since September 13. 

There are 9,362,598 active cases in the United States.

With not all states reporting daily numbers, the five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: New Hampshire 53%, Maine 31%, Vermont 30%, Rhode Island 19%, and Alaska 18%.

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Nome Census Area, AK. Goshen, WY. Boundary, ID. Bethel Census Area, AK. Kodiak Island Borough, AK. Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK. Fergus, MT. Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK.     Humboldt, NV. And Stark, ND.

There have been at least 738,877 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated were not updated so remain: Vermont at 70.9%, Rhode Island at 70.4%, and Connecticut at 70.3%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are West Virginia at 41%, Idaho at 43.4%, and Wyoming at 43.5%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 57.4%.

The five countries with the largest 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people; Taiwan up 4%, Oceana 2%, and South Korea, Ethiopia, and Australia 1%.

Globally, cases were down 1% and deaths were down 2% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since October 22.

There are 17,947,016 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 69,634. The U.K. 40,954. Russia 36,446. Turkey 29,643. And Germany 20,955.

There have been at least 4,962,804 deaths reported as...

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