China will start vaccinating children to age 3 as cases spread
Children as young as 3 will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks.
China becomes one of the few countries in the world to start vaccinating children that young against the virus. Cuba, for one, has begun a vaccine drive for children as young as 2. The U.S. and many European countries allow COVID-19 shots down to age 12, though the U.S. is moving quickly toward opening vaccinations to 5- to 11-year-olds.
Local city and provincial-level governments in at least five Chinese provinces issued notices in recent days announcing that children ages 3 to 11 will be required to get their vaccinations.
The expansion of the vaccination campaign comes as parts of China take new clampdown measures to try to stamp out small outbreaks. Gansu, a northwestern province heavily dependent on tourism, closed all tourist sites Monday after finding new COVID-19 cases.
Emergency rental relief ticked up slightly in September
The amount of emergency rental assistance reaching tenants and landlords grew slightly from August to September, but the Biden administration, and state and local programs, continue to struggle getting money out the door, especially in the absence of renter protections from a federal eviction moratorium.
Last month, nearly $2.8 billion was spent on rent, utilities and missed payments, and some 510,000 households were reached, according to figures released Monday by the Treasury Department. By comparison, $2.3 billion was spent in August, reaching 459,000 households.
All told, Congress appropriated $46.5 billion for emergency rental aid between two aid packages.
