A new study posted on the medRxiv* preprint server found that despite a lower coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine efficacy against reinfection with the Omicron variant, these vaccines demonstrate a marked efficacy against reinfection with severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Alpha and Delta variants, as well as the Omicron variant––lasting up to nine months, post-vaccination. Therefore, individuals who have been infected by the virus in the past must also obtain COVID-19 vaccination.

Read more at News Medical Life Sciences.

The White House laid out the federal government’s plans to make the first COVID-19 vaccines available for very young children.

COVID-19 vaccinations for kids younger than 5 could start right after the Juneteenth holiday.

In a White House briefing on Thursday, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes vaccines for the youngest kids soon after a June 15 advisory meeting, shipments of the first 10 million doses could start arriving at doctors’ offices as soon as the following weekend.

Read more at NPR.

Last year, Saphinah Kenyando was struggling to decide whether to get vaccinated against Covid. Kenyando, who is 38 and teaches chemistry and biology at a high school in Kenya, had read about horrifying side effects—blood clots, long-term disabilities—that sounded worse than the virus itself. She watched a (possibly doctored) clip from former US President Donald Trump saying that the effects included gruesome facial deformities that develop as a person ages. And she wondered whether the rumors circulating on Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube were true—that a person could take the jab and drop dead shortly thereafter.

In addition to her academic role, Kenyando also serves as the school chess coach, a duty she takes very seriously. She believes the game imparts valuable lessons to students: Make the right move, and you’ll reap the benefits. Make the wrong one, and you’ll be forced to deal with the fallout. “Chess is life,” she says. “Every decision we make in life is about the game of chess.” That’s how Kenyando framed her own decision on whether to get herself and her children vaccinated against Covid. She decided to hold off until she had more information.

Read more at Mother Jones.

Scientists have discovered through a new study what eventually persuaded people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after previously saying they were “hesitant” to get jabbed.

The research from the University of Kansas found that “conversion messages” were one of the most effective tools in convincing people to get vaccinated. This was in contrast to “one-sided” messages of advocacy. Conversion messages consisted of people describing someone who had been vaccine-hesitant and then changed their mind.

Read more at Newsweek.

One tragic fact about the nearly 1 million people who died of COVID-19 in the U.S. is that a huge share of them didn’t have to.

In Tennessee, 11,047 of the people who died could have survived if everyone in the state had gotten vaccinated. In Ohio, that number is 15,875. Nationally it’s nearly 319,000, according a new estimate.

These figures come from an analysis released Friday by researchers at Brown University and Microsoft AI Health — shared exclusively with NPR — that estimates the portion of vaccine-preventable deaths in each state since COVID-19 vaccines became available at the start of 2021.

Read more from NPR.

I was one of many women who had a pandemic baby. Few people saw me pregnant, and even fewer met my second-born son or ever will. In September 2021, just shy of 3 months of age, my son died. He was one of the most bright-eyed, happiest babies I’ve met and spent every day of his short life loved and adored.

The day it happened, I shared news of his loss in a short Twitter post. The impulse to share was a protective one. As someone active on social media, I wanted to avoid the inevitable question from friends and acquaintances: How’s your baby?

Read more from The New York Times.

Parents are being asked to look out for symptoms of hepatitis in their kids as an unexplained outbreak of cases in children continues across the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert Tuesday aimed at educating parents on symptoms.

“Hearing about severe liver disease in children can be concerning. If you have any questions about your child’s health, call your child’s healthcare provider,” the CDC wrote, adding that parents should be aware of the symptoms associated with liver inflammation, including fever, fatigue, nausea, and jaundice, which is yellowing of the skin.

Read more from ABC News.

West Hansen pilots his muddy Subaru through the industrial landscape of Southeast Texas where he grew up — past Bible churches, donut shops and the silver industrial towers of the refineries. The longtime social worker says he’s given up trying to explain to his clients how safe the COVID-19 vaccines are.

“I’ve grown weary of it,” he says. “I’ve realized that there’s no convincing somebody once they have their mind made up.”

He pulls up to the neatly trimmed yard of a townhouse where Donna and Danny Downes are waiting for him in their living room. She is a work-at-home administrator for a fence contractor; he’s a retired insurance salesman who is legally blind. They are devout Baptists.

Read more from NPR.