Mike Stobbe

Immunocompromised Americans at high risk from COVID-19 are now allowed to get a third vaccination in hopes of better protection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged all pregnant women Wednesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine as hospitals in hot spots around the U.S. see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course Tuesday on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.

Lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions isolated those with drug addictions and made treatment harder to get, experts said.

The nation’s top public health agency is not advising schools to require shots for teachers and vaccine-eligible kids, nor how teachers and parents can know who is vaccinated.

Experts believe a big reason may be that many people with dangerous symptoms made the lethal mistake of staying away from the hospital for fear of catching the coronavirus.

The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly age group.

The phenomenon has been chronicled for decades with a variety of vaccines.

Births in December 2020 declined in 23 of the 25 states from the same month a year earlier, the exceptions being Alaska and Wyoming.

Those who are unvaccinated can go without masks in most cases too, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

A U.S. health panel says it’s time to resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, despite a very rare risk of blood clots.

At an emergency meeting, CDC advisers wrestled with the fact that the U.S. has enough alternative shots to vaccinate its population — but other countries awaiting the one-and-done vaccine may not.

It’s the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.

The previous 6-foot standard has forced some schools to remove desks, stagger scheduling and take other steps to keep children away from one another.

Federal health officials are continuing to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear well-fitted masks and physically distance when out in public.