The latest Americans who have weakened immune systems – such as organ transplant recipients or patients with cancer – may be eligible for a third coronavirus vaccine dose within days. Regulators at the Food and Drug Administration decided Thursday to update the emergency use authorization for the two mRNA vaccines to permit extra doses. Numerous studies indicate a supplemental dose can trigger a protective immune response in certain vulnerable populations. "After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines," acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. If you have questions about this development, this FAQ probably has answers. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met today, and these experts have recommended what the FDA has approved, voting overwhelmingly Friday afternoon in favor of the third shot, as our Health team writes. It's likely CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will give the all-clear in the hours after that vote, allowing potentially millions of U.S. residents to get a third dose. Even communities where vaccination rates are high are not exempt from this summer surge in cases. The Post analyzed areas with full vaccination rates of 54 percent or higher, and found that 2 out of 3 Americans in these places were still living in virus hot spots. It's important to keep in mind, though, that the vaccines remain protective. It is much safer to live in a hot spot while being vaccinated this summer than it was to be in a hot spot last summer, before vaccines were available. Health officials in Mississippi warned this week that hospitals in the state are teetering on the edge of failure. With almost 2,700 new cases each day, infections there have spiked, and more than 1,500 patients are hospitalized with covid-19. "If we continue that trajectory within the next five to seven to 10 days, I think we're going to see failure of the hospital system in Mississippi," a University of Mississippi Medical Center executive said at a news conference. Across the Mississippi River in Arkansas, hospitalizations have risen among children 17 and younger. Some children such as 13-year-old Caia Alexx Morris have spent more than a month on a ventilator. Even otherwise healthy children in Arkansas are being hospitalized with covid-19, something that hadn't happened in earlier surges, one respiratory therapist there said. Other important news In viral social media posts, patients who did not get vaccinated are voicing their change of heart after bouts of covid-19. In a documentary that debuted Thursday, World Health Organization infectious-disease expert Peter Ben Embarek said Chinese researchers resisted examining the lab-leak hypothesis during a WHO-backed investigation. China disputed that claim, with one official saying that investigation's report must be "respected." The first case about vaccination requirements to reach the Supreme Court was decided in favor of mandates, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejecting Indiana University students' claim their school's rule was a constitutional violation. New Zealand may welcome vaccinated international travelers in early 2022, as the "fortress" island nation continues to maintain strict border protections against the virus. | 
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