COVID News: FDA considering half-dose of Moderna shot as booster

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is leaning toward authorizing half-dose booster shots of the Moderna Inc. coronavirus vaccine, satisfied that it's effective in shoring up protection, people familiar with the matter said.

The authorization would set the stage to further widen the U.S. booster campaign after earlier authorization of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot.

About 170 million fully vaccinated people in the U.S. received the Moderna or Pfizer shots, or 92% of the total inoculated so far.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity, before a potential announcement. It's not clear when an announcement will come.

Here are more of today's COVID-19 headlines:

105-year-old woman who survived 1918 flu, World War II dies from COVID-19

She lived a life of adventure that spanned two continents. She fell in love with a World War II fighter pilot, barely escaped Europe ahead of Benito Mussolini's fascists, ground steel for the U.S. war effort and advocated for her disabled daughter in a far less enlightened time. She was, her daughter said, someone who didn't make a habit of giving up.

And then this month, at age 105, Primetta Giacopini's life ended the way it began - in a pandemic.

Proposed bill would require COVID vaccine, negative test for domestic air travel ahead of holidays

Travelers could be looking at new COVID restrictions as we embark on the holiday season. It's one of several COVID-related updates for the airline industry.

With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner and one of the busiest times to fly, California Senator Diane Feinstein tweeted "We can't allow upcoming holiday air travel to contribute to another surge in COVID cases. Today, I introduced legislation requiring passengers on domestic flights to be vaccinated, test negative or be fully recovered from a previous COVID illness."

Masking in classrooms decreases COVID outbreaks, additional research shows

The debate over requiring children to wear masks at schools rages on, but not among doctors or scientists -- or teachers.

Multiple recent studies have shown that masks effectively slow virus transmission and prevent school closures. Three such studies were just published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on infectious diseases.

When will 'Aladdin' reopen on Broadway after COVID breakthrough cases cause cancellation?

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases canceled Wednesday night's performance of "Aladdin" on Broadway just one day after the show reopened for the first time in 18 months.

And as the lights come back on from the Great White Way's darkest period, Disney's "Aladdin" finally raised its curtain Tuesday night.

However, a statement released Wednesday just before 7 p.m. announced the breakthrough cases among the company of the show.

School bus company blames COVID for shutdown as families scramble on Long Island

An emergency school board meeting is scheduled for Thursday night to address a sudden school bus crisis in the Huntington Union Free School District in Suffolk County.

While it seemed like a typical morning for bus drop-off at Finley Middle School and others in the district, officials continued to scramble to come up with a way to make sure thousands of kids don't lose bus service.

Long haul COVID symptoms affect 1/3 of survivors, University of Oxford study finds

large study, involving more than 270,000 patients in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, conducted by the University of Oxford found 1/3 of all COVID survivors experience at least one symptom three to six months after getting infected.

Doctors at Northwestern Medicine's Comprehensive COVID-19 Center said their long COVID patients experience symptoms even longer.

Because no one knows how long symptoms last, doctors say society must be prepared for the long-term impact on the economy and the health care system. While doctors expect long haulers to improve, for now they continue to deal with what they call a second pandemic.

YouTube removes 130,000 videos violating COVID-19 vaccine policies

YouTube is wiping vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories from its popular video-sharing platform.

The ban on vaccine misinformation, announced in a blog post on Wednesday, comes as countries around the world continue to offer free immunizations for COVID-19 to a somewhat hesitant public.

NYC establishing permanent Public Health Corps

Using personnel from the city's Health + Hospitals Test and Trace Corps, New York City is establishing a new, permanent public health outreach agency, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. The new agency will be called the NYC Public Health Corps. Created to trace coronavirus exposures, the Test and Trace Corps - which will number 500 by December and just completed its millionth tracing contact - will now be a permanent city function. "The new Public Health Corps announced today will build on the hard work already being done in our communities to fight this pandemic and prepare us for future emergencies," said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. David Chokshi.

New York City COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus

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