Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 11-02-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for November 2nd, 2021.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Another horrific milestone has been crossed. The global death toll from COVID-19 has now topped 5 million people. This has happened in less than two years, and claimed victims from every corner of the globe, every color, every nationality, in both poor and wealthy nations. In fact the US, EU, Britain and Brazil — all upper-middle- or high-income countries — account for one-eighth of the world’s population but nearly half of all reported deaths.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The FDA is delaying their decision on Moderna's vaccine for 12- to 17-year-olds as they study the rare risk of heart inflammation. The company has been told the review could last until January. Moderna argues more than 1.5 million adolescents around the world have gotten its vaccine and the number of heart inflammation reports “does not suggest an increased risk.”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We’re hearing more and more about breakthrough infections but what about severe cases and even deaths from those breakthroughs? Figures in England show 4,500 fully vaccinated people died between January and September, most since the start of August. 10,000 additional fatalities were seen among people who’d gotten one jab.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Canada’s chief medical officers say the general population doesn’t need booster shots yet. They say they’ll keep watching the situation but right now, there’s no evidence of widespread waning of protection in those who’ve been vaccinated. Despite the advice, some provinces and territories are already administering boosters or plan to.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Even though many people are still scared of it, experts have been impressed with the performance of mRNA vaccines and are now contemplating additional future applications of it. For instance, a universal vaccine that would work across all four strains of flu that are always mutating, a vaccine against cancer that teaches the immune system to recognize mutations before the