Cavalier County
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Single Copy Volume 135
Republican
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In this issue:
Copyright © Langdon, North Dakota
All news and advertising for the Nov. 29 paper MUST be in before 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23 Langdon Area Schools and St. Alphonsus have release their first quarter Honor Rolls, see list on Page 9.
Index
OPINION PROF DIR CHURCH COMMUNITY SPORTS AG PN CLASSIFIED
PAGE 4 PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 PAGE 8 PAGE 10 PAGE 11 PAGE 12-13
Monday, November 15, 2021
Number 46
COVID-19 vaccine approved for children ages 5-11 By Linda Timian Republican Writer
Early Deadline Notice
Official Newspaper of Cavalier County Published since 1889
In the past few weeks, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5-11 years based on the recommendation of its independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) then recommended that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. The Center for Disease Control endorsed that recommendation. That may sound like a lot of red tape, but it is important to note that four expert groups gave their authorization or recommendation to use the Pfizer vaccine with children in this age group and for its immediate deployment. “Cavalier County Health District (CCHD) is pleased to offer the parents of 5-11 years olds the opportunity to protect their children from COVID-19,” said Public Health Nurse Steph Welsh. “Vaccines are a safe and effective way to keep your children well.” This is good news for children and their families. During the 6-week period from late June to mid-August, COVID-19 hospi-
talizations among children and adolescents increased fivefold in the U.S. due to the spread of the Delta Variant. Because there is still so much COVID-19 transmission in the U.S., it’s now the seventh leading cause of death for children ages 5–11 and even higher than that for kids ages 12–18. “Over 1.9 million cases, 8,300 hospitalizations and at least 94 deaths and have been reported in this age group as a result of
vaccinated in the CCHD office, call 256-2402 to add your child to the waiting list. Initially, this vaccine will be in limited supply, and they want to maximize the use of doses from the vials. Vaccinating children will help protect them from getting COVID-19 therefore reducing their risk of hospitalizations, deaths, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and long-term complications, such as “long COVID,” in which symp-
COVID-19 infection,” said Welsh. “Preventing COVID illness is this age group is an important step in keeping children well, in school, and in activities.” CCHD has school-based clinics set for Munich and Langdon Elementary Schools for the week of November 15th. Watch for forms to be sent home from the schools. If you want to have your child
toms can linger for months. “Vaccination in this age group has the added benefit of preventing disease spread to family members,” said Welsh. It is rare for a vaccinated person to infect others. People are much more likely to be infected by unvaccinated individuals. If kids are exposed to COVID-19 in school, they may accidentally
expose their teachers, grandparents, or other high-risk individuals in their lives. Many people are getting booster shots because there are still high levels of transmission of COVID-19 happening across the country. Currently, North Dakota is one of the worst states for COVID-19 transmission. Kids are part of that chain of transmission. Higher vaccination rates result in less transmission, fewer people getting sick, and fewer opportunities for the virus to mutate. Similar to what was seen in adult vaccine trials, vaccination was nearly 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged 5-11 years. Side effects were mild and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children. The most common side effect was a sore arm. COVID-19 vaccines have undergone – and will continue to undergo – the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. Some vaccinations were created and made available for diseases that have far fewer deaths and hospitalizations than COVID-19. For example, Hepatitis A killed an average of 3 children per year before vaccines compared to COVID-19 that has killed an average of 66 children per year before vaccines. cont. on page 2
Burgum calls for investment in infrastructure, Giving Tree up at the Bread Pan shop for the items on the tags, Linda Timian and return them to the Bread workforce, economic development and tax relief By Republican Writer Gov. Doug Burgum delivered his State of the State address on Nov. 8 to a special session of the 67th Legislative Assembly, calling for investment of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars and the state’s excess ending fund balance into infrastructure, tax relief, workforce, economic development and other priorities to move North Dakota forward. “By investing right now, right here in North Dakota, we can diversify the economy, we can enhance government services, and we can avoid inflation, be competitive and create longterm cost savings for citizens – all without raising taxes,” Burgum said, kicking off the special legislative session in the House chamber of the Capitol. “But we must invest strategically. That means one-time expenditures that don’t grow government. It means providing long-term value, efficiency and cost savings for taxpayers. And it means ensuring a high returnon-investment and leveraging private dollars to maximize the impact of public funds.” Burgum signed an executive order Oct. 29 convening a special session of the Legislature on Nov. 8 to address legislative redistricting, statewide infrastructure and capital projects, natural gas infrastructure,
statewide workforce programs, economic development opportunities, income tax relief and road, water and deferred maintenance needs. Most of the investments are proposed from the state’s ARPA funds. North Dakota received just over $1 billion in ARPA State Fiscal Recovery funds and $113 million in ARPA Coronavirus Capital Projects funds, for a total of $1.12 billion in ARPA funds designated for distribution by the state. About $423 million of that amount already has been appropriated by the Legislature last spring for transportation infrastructure and capital projects. The state also ended the 2019-21 budget cycle with a general fund ending balance that was $412 million more than what the Legislature obligated for the current 2021-23 budget. Today, Burgum repeated his call for the Legislature to use approximately half of those excess funds, or $207 million, to provide individuals with an income tax credit of up to $500 per year, per return, for the 2021 and 2022 tax returns. “Providing tax relief now for the 2021 and 2022 calendar years – putting money back into the hands of our citizens – is real tax relief, and it’s responsive,” Burgum said. “We can
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afford to do it, and we should want to do it. The hardworking taxpayers of North Dakota certainly deserve it.” Burgum noted the state’s reserves are healthy, with the rainy-day Budget Stabilization Fund at its legislatively set maximum of $749 million, a record high. The Office of Management and Budget also is projecting a nearly $600 million unobligated balance in the Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund and an unobligated general fund balance of $540 million by the end of the biennium. Burgum said the state’s financial condition “presents a golden opportunity to invest in our future and provide tax relief and future savings to our citizens.” The governor released his Accelerate ND plan on Sept. 30 with broad input from the private and public sectors, delivering a solid starting point for the ARPA investment process. Burgum today thanked legislative leaders for their collaboration through the process and also thanked the interim appropriations committees for advancing high return-on-investment opportunities, noting the strong alignment between the appropriations bills and the Accelerate ND plan.
Bill and Marie Mack have just put up the Giving Tree in the Bread Pan Bakery, making this the fourth year the Macks have coordinated the community gift giving project. The tree is filled with tags that have a person’s age, male or female, and what they would
Pan. You can wrap the gifts or leave them unwrapped, just make sure each tag stays with each gift. Gifts need to be turned in at the Bread Pan by December 14th this year. If you can’t or don’t want to shop, you can make a monetary donation at the Bread Pan, and the money will be
like for Christmas. Anyone can stop by the Bread Pan and pick up a tag (or two or three!),
used to purchase gifts locally as much as possible for the cont. on page 2
KEEP YOUR FINANCES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Download the FM Bank mobile app today! iPhone users – Enter “FM Bank Langdon” in the app store. Android devices – Enter “Farmers and Merchants State Bank” in the search tool. Stay connected with FM Bank – anytime, anywhere!
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