The latest Pediatricians started vaccinating children younger than 5 on Tuesday, 18 months after a New York nurse received the very first U.S. coronavirus vaccine. As many as 19 million children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years can now get a shot from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna to protect them from the worst effects of the coronavirus. Spiking prices have eaten up many Americans' pandemic-era stimulus funds. With expenses rising, many middle-class families are feeling the squeeze of inflation. Meanwhile, pandemic-driven government programs that helped ease the financial burden posed by the coronavirus have ended one by one. My colleague Akilah Johnson reports that prescriptions for antiviral pills to combat covid-19 increased far more rapidly in wealthier neighborhoods than in socially and economically vulnerable communities as federal, state and local officials worked to improve access to the life-saving medication, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From Dec. 23 to May 21, more than 1 million prescriptions for the antivirals were filled, the report said. About 70 percent of them occurred after efforts to expand access to Paxlovid and Lagevrio began in March, including the creation of more "test-to-treat" programs in pharmacies and clinics, the report said. Still, even though about half of the sites were in vulnerable communities and 88 percent of the U.S. population lives within five miles of locations where antivirals are available, prescription rates in wealthy communities were double what they were in less advantaged communities, the report said. The pills are available by prescription after testing positive. But many people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods don't have a doctor they see regularly and most pharmacies do not have employees who can write prescriptions. Other important news A Cuban chemist who was declared a threat to U.S. national security helped ensure that most children in the island nation were fully vaccinated months ago. Cities consider funding free and reduced-fare transit options amid historically low ridership during the pandemic. | 
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