HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — "Data is what guides us in our response to this pandemic but every piece of data represents a person," said Dr. Karen Landers with the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Despite COVID cases trending in the right direction, experts say it's not time to get rid of masks just yet.
"Even though we are enjoying this plateau and hospitals now have four extra ICU beds, there is no reason for us to abandon the data," said Landers.
Additionally, more children are starting to get infected with the virus.
"The virus has particularly found a population in terms of the pediatric cases," said Landers.
Health experts say kids ages 17 and under are getting sick, some are getting critically ill and require intensive care.
"There are 40 to 50 kids at any given time in the hospital if you're looking at an average, and somewhere around six to eight kids on ventilators," said Landers.
On Monday, Pfizer said its vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11.
"Pfizer plans to present their information to the [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] and then of course, that information will be reviewed by Verbrauch, which is the independent committee that looks at scientific data prior to making a recommendation to FDA."
Should the FDA approve the vaccine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend it for children, it would cater to a whole group of unvaccinated people.
"[Pfizer] will present their information to the FDA. The FDA, of course, and the independent committee will weigh that and then make recommendations to the FDA," said Landers.
Regarding booster shots, the FDA and CDC are reviewing relevant data before making any recommendations or approvals.
A member of the White House COVID Task Force said we should also have answers about whether boosters are recommended or not very soon.
"We have to wait for the final determination from the FDA and the final recommendation from the CDC which should be coming up here in the next couple of days, so that we can communicate with the American public with a clear message as to who is eligible to get a booster and when," said White House Vaccinations Coordinator Dr. Bechara Choucair.