Magnificent News: Coronavirus Updates: Putting your unvaccinated kid in day care

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Important developments in the pandemic.

By Ben Guarino
with Lindsey Bever

The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email.

The latest

Coronavirus vaccines available in the United States work. In fact, the vaccines work so well their effects are starting to become apparent at the state level, even though less than half of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. A Washington Post analysis examining the relationship between cases and vaccinations finds that, generally, there are fewer new cases of covid-19 in states where vaccination rates are higher.

But that observation comes with a warning against complacency. "If the unvaccinated continue to behave as though they're vaccinated," there could be surges among the vulnerable this summer, Michael Saag, an infectious-disease doctor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told The Post. And cases are higher — in some counties, rising — in states where fewer people are vaccinated. Take a look at these graphics to see where your state stands.

Though the pandemic is largely receding in the U.S., and deaths are rising slower than they did in the winter, the toll of this virus continues its grim march upward: Nearly 600,000 Americans have died of covid-19. These are some of their stories. That these deaths came so late in the pandemic is its own cruelty. Some of those who recently died of the disease did so nearly having been vaccinated; a few had already received a first dose.

A clinical trial with 30,000 subjects found that a vaccine made by Novavax, a biotechnology company in Maryland, was 90 percent effective at preventing people from becoming sick with covid-19 after two doses. There were no cases of moderate or severe disease among vaccinated people, nor were there deaths. The vaccine is unlikely to become available before fall, so it will probably have the largest impact overseas through programs such as Covax, the World Health Organization-sponsored campaign to distribute vaccines to countries that need doses.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday that coronavirus restrictions will persist into July. The spread of the delta variant prompted U.K. leaders to reassess plans to relax precautions — June 21 was supposed to be "freedom day." That date has been pushed back at least to July 19, though Johnson said he was confident "we will not need more than four weeks."

Safeguards such as temperature checks or hyper-scrubbed surfaces offer little more than symbolic protection against the coronavirus. But these efforts, nicknamed hygiene theater, continue to be practiced by businesses despite the lack of evidence that they work. "We really should be scaling back on these precautions, especially on the steroidally boosted cleaning of surfaces," Lindsey Leininger, a Dartmouth College business professor who specializes in public health, told The Post.

Other important news

At least 60 million more doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine made at the troubled Emergent BioSolutions plant cannot be used, the Food and Drug Administration has decided. But 10 million doses can be released, a rigorous FDA review found. They will probably be sent overseas.

Unruly passengers who refuse to wear masks on airplanes have caused disruptions at levels that flight attendants say are unprecedented.

Copa America, the international soccer tournament, began Sunday in Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro has welcomed the event, despite opposition from residents and health experts who fear that it will endanger a country already struggling with high coronavirus cases.

Guide to the pandemic

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Your questions, answered

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had our toddler at home with us every day. But now as things open up and we must get back to the office, we are going to have to send her back to day care. We are vaccinated, but not all of the day-care workers are. We are worried. Should we be? What can we do? What is the guidance for children in day cares (especially if all workers aren't taking precautions)?" — Jessica in Idaho

Your concerns are valid.

Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, does not typically result in serious illness in children, and even less so in children under 5. Still, about 4 million children in the United States have been diagnosed since the pandemic started, resulting in tens of thousands of hospitalizations and several hundred deaths.

Because your toddler is not yet eligible for the vaccine, which is authorized only for those 12 and older, you are largely at the mercy of the day-care center.

But that may not last too long. Both Pfizer and Moderna are running clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of the messenger RNA vaccines in children as young as 6 months old. And Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's leading infectious-disease expert, recently said it is likely that researchers will have enough data to start vaccinating children "of any age" by early next year.

Until then, assuming your child is at least 2 years old, you can encourage her to keep wearing a mask.

Yvonne Maldonado, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases, told The Washington Post that until younger children can get vaccinated, "they should continue to wear face masks when they are in public and around other people."

"We've already seen how the masks have helped prevent the spread of respiratory infections within schools, camps and other community settings, particularly when everyone wears them, washes hands and follows other infection-control guidance," Maldonado added.

And you could certainly discuss your concerns with the day-care workers. Even if not all of them are vaccinated, hopefully they are following other federal health recommendations on operating child-care programs, like masking, frequent handwashing for both staffers and children, physical distancing and proper cleaning practices, including sanitizing toys.

In the end, it's up to you to assess the situation and decide what you feel comfortable with, and whether another facility may align a bit better with your personal risk tolerance.