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Coronavirus

FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday paved the way for children ages 5 to 11 to get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA cleared kid-size doses — just a third of the amount given to teens and adults — for emergency use, and up to 28 million more American children could be eligible for vaccinations as early as next week. One more regulatory hurdle remains: On Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make more detailed recommendations on which youngsters should get vaccinated, with a final decision by the agency’s ...

Jobless claims at pre-pandemic levels

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Initial jobless claims in Ohio have returned to pre-pandemic levels for the first time, according to two weeks of state data. The positive economic news comes even as a fresh state auditor’s report sheds more light on the extent of fraud experienced by Ohio’s ...

Pandemic restrictions fuel recall efforts on fall ballots

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Hospitals in Missouri were inundated with COVID-19 patients last summer when a group opposed to a mask mandate that had already expired gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall vote against the mayor who enacted it. Now the question about Mayor Brian Steele is on ...

Exacerbated by pandemic, child care crisis hampers economy

SEATTLE (AP) — After Bryan Kang’s son was born in July, the occupational therapist and his wife, a teacher, started looking for child care in the Los Angeles area. The couple called eight day care centers: Some didn’t have spots for months; others stopped taking their calls and some never answered at all. So with no viable options, Kang scrambled to find a new job that would allow him to work remotely. “I told my manager, ‘Hey, by the end of the month, I have to transition out,’” Kang said. “They were very supportive and very understanding because they’re all ...

Report: At least 59,000 meat workers caught COVID, 269 died

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — At least 59,000 meatpacking workers caught COVID-19 and 269 workers died when the virus tore through the industry last year, which is significantly more than previously thought, according to a new U.S. House report released Wednesday. The meatpacking industry was one of ...

COVID cases falling, but trouble signs arise as winter looms

Tumbling COVID-19 case counts have some schools around the U.S. considering relaxing their mask rules, but deaths nationally have been ticking up over the past few weeks, some rural hospitals are showing signs of strain, and cold weather is setting in. The number of new cases nationally has ...