Coronavirus Watch: Pediatricians and pharmacists are bracing for a crush

Now that Pfizer-BioNTech has submitted an application to the FDA to authorize its vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, pediatricians and pharmacists are bracing for a crush.

More than 28 million children could become eligible to receive the shot by Halloween or days after, and there is pent-up demand as many parents are eager to get their kids vaccinated now that they are back at school. Read more here.

It's Friday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know.

• Adults over the age of 40 found it harder to regain a loss of smell or taste after having COVID-19, and younger people regained their sense of smell more quickly, according to a study published in the American Journal Otolaryngology.
• Hiring slowed again in September. The economy added 194,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell from 5.2% to 4.8%, the Labor Department said Friday. The nation is still 5 million jobs below its pre-crisis level.
• An Amur Tiger named Keesa at South Dakota's Great Plains Zoo tested positive for COVID-19, a zoo veterinarian said. Several other big cats at the zoo, including two Amur tigers and two snow leopards, have since exhibited symptoms.
• Authorities in France have announced that unvaccinated people will be charged for COVID-19 tests in an attempt to boost vaccinations.
• The U.S. is once again reporting fewer than 100,000 cases in a typical day, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the week ending Thursday, the country saw 698,567 new cases. The U.S. had been reporting more than 1.1 million cases per week about a month ago. Even at the present level, the U.S. is still reporting an average of more than 1 case every second.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 44 million COVID-19 cases and 710,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 236 million cases and more than 4.8 million deaths. About 65% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 56% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 78% have received at least one shot, and about 68% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck