Coronavirus Updates: Kids under 5 may be able to get vaccinated soon

7 U.S. destinations with high vaccination rates ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Important developments in the pandemic.       By Marisa Iati  Email The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email.   The latest For parents of children under 5, a long-awaited reprieve may be coming: Pfizer and BioNTech announced Tuesday that they are seeking emergency-use authorization for the first coronavirus vaccine for children in that age group. The companies asked the Food and Drug Administration to review safety and efficacy data for the first two doses of a three-dose regimen for children as young as 6 months. The vaccine could become available by the end of February.  Musicians David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, as well as writer and podcaster Roxane Gay, became the latest public figures to remove their content from the streaming service Spotify to protest provocative podcaster Joe Rogan's spread of covid-19 misinformation. Many musicians have long had issues with the platform's business model, and the Rogan controversy simply pushed them over the edge. If you need to catch up on the situation, my colleague Aaron Blake put together a helpful explainer.  More than half of Virginia's school districts, with about 68 percent of the state's public-school population, are defying Gov. Glenn Youngkin's executive order making masks optional in classrooms. The divide mostly falls along party lines, with districts that voted for Youngkin (R) last year choosing to remove mask requirements. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is challenging the masks-optional order in court.  Researchers examined the preparedness of 177 countries for the pandemic to determine what made some more ready to respond than others. They concluded that a key element was trust. Better outcomes seemed linked to high levels of confidence in government and other citizens, while perception of government corruption was correlated with worse outcomes.  A near-record 4.3 million people quit or changed jobs in December as the omicron variant disrupted workplaces, schools and day cares. Job openings remained far above pre-pandemic averages. Those statistics came as employees juggled workplace outbreaks with few social safety net provisions and decreased confidence that the virus would soon have less impact on daily life. Federal immigration detention centers are experiencing record levels of infections, increasing pressure on the Biden administration to release migrants or at least make sure they get booster doses of vaccines. About 14 percent of detainees had covid-19 late last week, according to the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice. While federal officials have said many people are infected before being taken into custody, medical experts and lawyers said the virus is also spreading inside detention facilities.   Other important news Moderna launched a clinical trial to test a potential HIV vaccine that uses the mRNA technology from the company's coronavirus vaccine.  Tonga, once covid-free, has entered lockdown after recording five coronavirus cases following a volcanic eruption and tsunami last month.  Patients are returning to the dentist after two years. Some are not okay — emotionally or dentally.  Want to plan a U.S. vacation with coronavirus safety in mind? Here are 7 destinations with high vaccination rates. Do you work in health care? The Washington Post wants to hear how you're navigating the pandemic.   Guide to the pandemic Track confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. and the spread around the world. U.S. vaccine distribution and delivery, tracked by state. Guides: Finding vaccine appointments | Vaccines | Variants | Masks Follow updates about the pandemic from Post reporters across the globe. Submit a question and we may answer it in a future story or newsletter.    Your questions, answered "What is the relative risk of severe infection by omicron in boosted people over 65? We keep hearing the risk is extremely low but I have not seen a statistic on the over-65 age group and am unsure how careful I need to be." — Janet in California  You're in luck: Federal health officials recently released data that addresses your question, and it is reassuring. Before we delve into it, though, we have to give our standard disclaimer that we don't offer medical advice and you should talk to your doctor about your individual risk.  That said, the data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the risk of death from covid-19 among vaccinated and boosted people is quite low. The report focused on infections and deaths reported by 25 state and local health departments, stratified by vaccination status.  The top-line finding was striking: In October and November, the weekly mortality rate among boosted people was 0.1 in 100,000. By comparison, the rate was 0.6 for vaccinated people without a booster dose and 7.8 for unvaccinated people.  Encouragingly, the report also found that boosters most effectively increased protection in people 65 and older. In that demographic, weekly covid-related deaths in October and November were 0.5 per 100,000 people — or 5 in 1 million. Compare that with an incidence of 33.4 deaths per 100,000 people among unvaccinated people in the same age group.  That finding suggests that, absent a severe underlying condition, boosted people 65 and older were at very low risk of dying of covid in the fall. Because of lags in reporting, the CDC said it couldn't evaluate covid-19 deaths in December, after the omicron variant became widespread. Omicron, which now makes up 99.9 percent of new infections in the United States, according to the CDC, appears to be inherently milder than the delta variant.  Receiving a full vaccination regimen and a booster shot remains crucial to protection. In December, unvaccinated adults 65 and older had 52 times the risk of being hospitalized for covid than fully vaccinated and boosted people in the same age group, according to the CDC.  With just about 4 in 10 fully vaccinated people having been boosted, the new data offers yet another reason for those who haven't gotten an additional dose to prioritize doing so. The federally owned website vaccines.gov can help you make an appointment.   Today's top reads Find more stories, analysis and op-eds about the pandemic on our coronavirus page. I live in Tokyo. He lives in D.C. Omicron forced us to marry if we ever wanted to see each other. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee ●  Read more »   Yes, more variants may emerge in the future. That's why we should lift restrictions now. Opinion ●  By Leana S. Wen ●  Read more »   Protesters block U.S.-Canada border crossing as 'Freedom Convoy' truckers challenge vaccine mandates By Annabelle Timsit and Amanda Coletta ●  Read more »   Pregnant journalist says she's returning to New Zealand after strict covid rules left her in Afghanistan By Annabelle Timsit ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out Eat Voraciously for one quick, adaptable and creative recipe in your inbox Monday through Thursday to inspire delicious meals. Sign up »

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