Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is rolling back vaccination and mask restrictions. Effective today, indoor venues are no longer be required to verify that patrons are vaccinated, although businesses may choose to keep the requirement in place. And on March 1, masks will no longer be required in most public spaces and houses of worships. They will still be needed in schools, day care and medical facilities, libraries, city offices, public transit, cabs and rideshare vehicles.
Since the height of the omicron wave in Washington, COVID-19 cases have dropped by more than 90% and there’s been a 95% reduction in hospitalizations, Bowser said.
Despite dropping case counts, child COVID cases are still higher than the peak level of delta's reign in 2021, according to the organization. Only 66% of children ages 12- 17 have received one shot, according to the academy. Younger children have even worse inoculation rates: Only 31% of 5- 11-year-olds have received one dose of the COVID vaccine.
Vaccines are not yet available for children under age 5 in the U.S. On Monday, Hong Kong authorities said they will begin vaccinating children as young as 3 years old to combat a record surge of infections.
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