International
EU approves first Covid jab for kids aged 5-11
AFP
The EU cleared Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged five to 11 on Thursday, the first jab to be approved in a cohort where the virus is rapidly spreading.
Only a small handful of countries had previously given the nod for coronavirus vaccinations in younger children, including the United States, Israel and Canada.
“I’m glad to tell you that Comirnaty from today has received approval for children five to 11 years of age,” said Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), using the vaccine’s brand name.
“This is based on a different dose in the one used in adults, essentially it’s a much lower dose,” he told an online public meeting.
The vaccine was already cleared for use in people aged 12 and over in the 27-nation EU.
Children aged five to 11 will be given one third of the dose that older people receive, with two injections, three weeks apart, the EMA said in a statement.
The vaccine was 90.7 percent effective in a study of nearly 2,000 children of that age, it added.
Side effects were usually “mild or moderate” lasting a few days, and included pain in the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain and chills.
The EMA “therefore concluded that the benefits of Comirnaty in children aged five to 11 outweigh the risks, particularly in those with conditions that increase the risk of severe Covid-19.”
But the Pfizer jab’s safety in children “will continue to be monitored closely”.
– ‘Rare in children’ –
Health authorities say children make up an increasing proportion of new cases and hospitalisations in Europe, which is back at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic.
Children are also considered key drivers of infections even when they themselves do not come down with symptoms.
In the Netherlands, where the EMA is based, authorities said earlier this week that the largest increase in cases was among children up to the age of 12.
“We know that severe Covid-19 and death remain quite rare in children, however disease of all severity occurs in all the paediatric ages,” Cavaleri said.
“Moreover, high transmission results in increased hospitalisation in children of all ages.”
While children with underlying health conditions were more likely to become ill, the majority of children in hospital with Covid were otherwise healthy, said Cavaleri.
They were also at risk of so-called “long Covid” symptoms dragging on for months after infection, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome, he added.
The EMA is separately reviewing Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for children aged 6-11 and expects to reach a decision in January.
The regulator has so far approved four vaccines for use for adults in the EU: Pfizer and Moderna, which use messenger RNA technology, and AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which use viral vector technology.
International
Spanish Government Targets ‘Big Tech Impunity’ in AI Image Scandal
The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced Tuesday that his government will ask prosecutors to investigate X, Meta and TikTok over the alleged creation and distribution of sexually explicit images involving minors generated through artificial intelligence.
In a post on X, Sánchez said the government would formally request that the Public Prosecutor’s Office examine potential crimes that these platforms may have committed by allowing or facilitating the use of AI tools to generate such content.
“These platforms are harming the mental health, dignity and rights of our children,” Sánchez wrote, adding that “the impunity of the giants must end.”
In recent weeks, the Spanish leader has publicly clashed with tech figures such as Elon Musk and Pavel Durov after announcing on February 3 his intention to ban social media access for minors under the age of 16.
Sánchez also signaled plans to amend legislation so that platform executives could be held legally responsible for certain violations committed on their websites.
According to figures released Tuesday by the government, one in five young people in Spain — particularly girls and teenage minors — say they have experienced the circulation of AI-generated fake nude images of themselves while underage.
International
Father Faces Murder Charges in Georgia School Shooting Case
Colin Gray, 55, appeared in court Monday facing charges of murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the September 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School, carried out by his son, Colt.
Two 14-year-old students and two teachers were killed, and nine others were injured in the shooting in Winder, Georgia. Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time and is now 16, has been charged as an adult and is awaiting a trial date.
During opening statements, prosecutors alleged that Gray gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack as a Christmas gift in 2023, despite prior warnings that the teenager had threatened to carry out a school shooting.
According to the FBI, local authorities interviewed Colt and his father in May 2023 after receiving anonymous reports about online threats made by the teen.
“This case is about this defendant and his actions—allowing a minor in his custody to have access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that the minor intended to harm others,” said Brad Smith, the Barrow County prosecutor.
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs told jurors that Colin Gray was unaware of his son’s intentions and had sought help for the teenager’s declining mental health.
School shootings remain a recurring issue in the United States, where firearms outnumber people and regulations governing the purchase of even high-powered, military-style rifles are relatively permissive.
Central America
Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat
Guatemala’s attorney general, Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States over corruption allegations, lost a key vote on Monday in which a public university selected two of the 10 magistrates for the country’s highest constitutional court. However, she could still seek a seat through another nominating body.
The election of five full magistrates and five alternates to the Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) is taking place gradually over more than two months and is considered crucial in the ongoing struggle for control of Guatemala’s judiciary, which critics say has long been influenced by a political and economic elite accused of corruption.
According to results announced at a press conference, the governing council of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) rejected Porras, who had applied as either a full or alternate magistrate, and instead chose two candidates aligned with the university rector. The vote was held at a hotel in Antigua, about 35 kilometers from the capital.
Despite the setback, Porras — whose term as attorney general ends on May 16 — could still be nominated to the Constitutional Court by the Corte Suprema de Justicia, which appoints two magistrates. The remaining six are selected by the president, the bar association and Congress.
“It’s always a possibility,” the 72-year-old lawyer said days earlier when asked by reporters whether she would seek nomination through another institution if she lost the USAC vote.
Porras has been sanctioned by Washington and the European Union for allegedly attempting two years ago to block the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo and for pursuing legal actions against anti-corruption prosecutors, judges, journalists and social leaders since taking office in 2018.
The USAC vote was controversial because most members of the university’s governing council are serving beyond the expiration of their terms. Students, academics and social activists staged protests against Porras’ candidacy.
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