Health Highlights: Oct. 28, 2020

Pfizer to Seek Emergency Authorization for COVID-19 Vaccine

In November, Pfizer plans to ask the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine after safety milestones are achieved, CBS News reported Tuesday.

Pfizer said its final trial vaccine trial has enrolled almost all of the planned 44,000 participants worldwide. Nearly 36,000 had gotten the second shot of the vaccine as of Monday.

The trial includes people as young as 12 and those with chronic, stable HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B, CBS News reported.

Pfizer expects to know soon if the vaccine is effective or not -- Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla had said they expect to know if the vaccine works by the end of October.

The company has contracts with the United States, the European Union and about 10 countries to deliver hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine next year, assuming it's approved, CBS News reported.

Seniors Better at Pandemic Safety Than Young Adults

Older Americans follow coronavirus recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention better than young adults do, a new survey finds.

This might explain why COVID-19 started rising in younger people starting in June, CNN reported Tuesday.

Most Americans say they're doing the right things, according to the article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Use of face masks went from about 78% in April to 83% in May and 89% in June, the CDC survey of 6,500 adults aged 18 and older showed.

The percentage of older adults who wear masks was up to 14% higher than younger people, according to the report. Hand-washing, physical distancing and avoiding public or crowded places dropped slightly or stayed the same over time, CNN reported. For example, hand-washing dropped from 93% in April, to 91% in May and 89% in June.

"Older adults might be more concerned about COVID-19, based on their higher risk for severe illness compared with that of younger adults. Young adults might also be less likely to engage in mitigation behaviors because of social, developmental and practical factors," the researchers wrote.