October Current Events

By Ananya K. & Simon C.

November 3, 2021

The Budget Fight

In late September, Congressional Democrats attempted to raise the debt ceiling limit. Earlier this year, Congress successfully raised the budget limit, which allowed the federal government to spend more money on issues such as the coronavirus pandemic. However, they did not also raise the debt ceiling limit, which meant that the government could not spend the money they already budgeted to spend. Forty-six Republican senators blocked a bill which would have funded the government, leading to a standoff in Congress that lasted nearly a month. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stated that “Republicans are not rooting for a shutdown or a debt limit breach,” but wanted Democrats to take the debt ceiling vote on their own.

In early October, Senator McConnell offered a deal to raise the debt ceiling until December, which Democrats accepted as a short-term solution to the looming debt crisis. “I’m glad that this at least allows us to prevent a totally self-made and utterly preventable economic catastrophe as we work on a longer-term plan,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass). If this deal was not made, Democrats would have needed to use the budget reconciliation procedure in order to avoid a government default. Reconciliation could have allowed the debt ceiling limit to be raised with a simple majority vote (with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie) rather than the 60 votes required to overcome the filibuster. After the Senate passed McConnell’s deal and the House sent it to President Biden’s desk on October 12th, the new debt ceiling deadline is December 3rd.

As it stands, the government now has just enough money to last through November. Before December starts, Congress will have to begin talking once again, and this time the Republicans have promised they will not offer any help whatsoever.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla) said that “unless and until Democrats give up on their dream of a big-government, socialist America, Republicans cannot and will not support raising the debt limit and help them pave the superhighway to a great entitlement society.”

For now, the budget fight has been postponed, but as the debt ceiling deadline approaches, another showdown seems inevitable.

The Pandemic

Pfizer’s Vaccine for 5 to 11-Year Olds Approved

On November 2nd, the CDC gave final approval on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in 5 to 11-year-olds. Experts on a CDC panel unanimously recommended this approval that afternoon, and CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the final sign-off soon after. “Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19,” Walensky said. This approval comes only about a month after Pfizer asked the FDA to authorize its vaccine for this age group. On October 26th, an FDA panel recommended that the agency clear vaccinations for children 5 to 11, and three days later the FDA gave its approval. Doses for children aged 5 to 11 will be one-third the size of the doses already approved for those 12 and older. The panel also discussed that the risk of the rare side effect myocarditis, an inflammation of heart muscle tissue, is outweighed by the risk of the virus causing it. “Getting COVID, I think, is much riskier to the heart than this vaccine, no matter what age or sex,” said Dr. Matthew Oster, one of the CDC panelists.

On Pharmaceutical Company Merck’s Oral COVID Pill

Pharmaceutical company Merck asked the FDA on October 11th to authorize its new antiviral drug, molnupiravir. The company previously said that it reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half among patients with early symptoms of COVID-19. The FDA plans to convene a committee on November 30th to discuss granting emergency use approval to molnupiravir. Meanwhile, the treatment gained approval in the UK after its regulators authorized it, the British health Secretary saying that “this will be a game changer for the most vulnerable ... who will soon be able to receive the ground-breaking treatment.” The US has already purchased 1.7 million courses of the treatment, with other countries also making purchases from Merck.

More on Vaccines: Mixing-and-Matching & Boosters

On October 20th, the FDA signed off on booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson and said that anyone who was eligible for an additional dose could receive a vaccination from a brand different from the one they initially took. The following day, the CDC also authorized the changes. New “mix-and-match” rules allow those who may have been at risk from rare side effects of one vaccine to choose a different one. Depending on the vaccine, booster recommendations and doses vary after six months: For Pfizer and Moderna, boosters are allowed for all. But they are specifically encouraged for those who are 65 or older, 50 or older with severe health complications, or nursing home residents. Moderna boosters will also only be half the initial dose size. For J&J recipients, a booster is recommended after two months. For more on vaccinations, boosters, and mixing-and-matching, read this article from the Associated Press to find out if you are recommended to get a booster shot.