Parents and caregivers of young children say they’ve hit pandemic rock bottom
The people who take care of and educate children under 5 years old – both parents and providers – are in a special kind of hell right now. These children are too young to be vaccinated, and it’s difficult for them to wear masks consistently. Many child care directors, like [Cori] Berg, are still following 10- or 14-day quarantines, closing entire classrooms after a single positive test, which has caused nonstop disruptions given the current record numbers of Covid-19 cases. Recently, Berg’s infant room had “double decker” quarantines: closed for two weeks, back for one day, closed for another two weeks. Continue reading at KUOW. (Cooper Neill)
Unvaccinated seniors nearly 50 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted peers
Unvaccinated adults age 65 or older who contracted the coronavirus were 49 times more likely to require hospitalization than seniors who had received booster vaccine doses, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unimmunized adults in that age group were also 17 times more likely to be admitted to a hospital than those who had received either two shots of an mRNA vaccine or one Johnson & Johnson dose. Meanwhile, unvaccinated people between 50 and 64 years old were 44 times more likely to need hospitalization compared with their boosted counterparts. Continue reading at The Washington Post. (Scott Olson)
Most eligible WA residents have gotten COVID boosters, but work still ahead, DOH says
About 53% of eligible people have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose, according to Washington state health officials. Secretary of Health Umair Shah shared the statistic for the 12 and older eligible population during a Wednesday morning briefing. He said 2.2 million booster doses had been given out across the state. Researchers are still studying the ongoing effectiveness of the vaccines, said Acting Assistant Secretary Michele Roberts. However, she emphasized that the vaccines continue to be a key tool in responding to the more transmissible Omicron variant. Continue reading at The Olympian.
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