Same Pandemic, Different Year: COVID Omnipresent As 2022 Starts

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, Jan. 4, though it may still feel like Monday for the rest of the week for Americans getting back to work — that’s if they made it home, after bad weather and COVID-19 staffing shortages continued to ground flights.

Here are some of the stories we’re following:

• The FDA authorized Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots for children as young as 12.
• It’s not just airlines that are dealing with frustrated passengers.
• California’s drought is easing, but poisonous mushrooms are emerging.

The Food and Drug Administration handed parents a new tool to fight the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus when it authorized Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots for children ages 12-15. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to OK the booster shots. » FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters For Kids, 12-15, via Across America Patch

The authorization and the CDC’s expected approval couldn’t come at a better time. Thousands of U.S. schools were closed Monday as districts and others struggled with staffing shortages, COVID-19 mitigation measures and questions about how and when the pandemic will end. » How Will Pandemic End? Omicron Clouds Forecasts For Endgame, via Across America Patch

The school closures could last days or weeks.

“We know that changes do cause difficulties to families,” Khalid Mumin, the superintendent at Lower Merion School District in the Philadelphia area, said in a letter explaining decision to close schools, “but are grateful for your understanding and flexibility as we work to protect everyone’s health and safety under rapidly changing circumstances.” » Suburban Philly Schools Close Amid Climbing COVID-19 Cases, via Haverford-Havertown, Pennsylvania, Patch

Related:

• Milwaukee Area Schools To Close Or Go Virtual, via Milwaukee Patch
• New Jersey First Lady Tests Postive For COVID, via Asbury Park, New Jersey, Patch
• New Jersey Seeing Omicron ‘Tsunami,’ via West Orange, New Jersey, Patch

More Travel Troubles

Thousands of flights were canceled to and from the snowy Northeast and mid-Atlantic states Monday, adding to the despair of holiday travelers who have been trying to get home as airlines struggled to put together healthy crews to staff the flights.

At least 2,600 U.S. flights and more than 4,100 worldwide were grounded Monday, according to the tracking service FlightAware.com. The weather situation, at least, appears to be improving, with FlightWare reporting only about 300 U.S. flights canceled for Tuesday.

Airlines aren’t alone in staffing-related delays. Multiple New York City subway lines closed Monday because of staffing shortages. » MTA Suspends Multiple Subway Lines Over COVID Crew Shortages, via New York City Patch

Around ‘The Patch’

• Deadly Mushrooms: As California’s drought eases some, the deadly death cap and Western destroying angel mushrooms are popping up, via San Francisco Patch
• Betty White Burger: Patrons at Sobelman's Waukesha can order the Betty White burger for the month of January, via Waukesha, Wisconsin, Patch
• Chicago Couple’s Wedding First: Jake Harris and Justin Luna won a lottery to be the first couple in 2022 to get a marriage license from the Cook County Clerk’s Office, via Chicago Patch

Jan. 6 Insurrection Anniversary

Here are some of the latest stories from Across America Patch and elsewhere as the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection approaches:

• Jan. 6 Committee Prepares To Go Public As Findings Mount
• In A Nation At War With Itself, One Town Tries A Cup Of Civility
• Biden Pushed To Speak Out More As U.S. Democracy Concerns Grow

Say You’re Sorry: Contributor Spotlight

“The most important words after ‘I love you’ to be willing to say to a loved one are, ‘I am sorry,’” writes Patch contributor Hal Green, a retired counselor and minister. How you say it matters. » How To Say ‘I Am Sorry,’ via Across America Patch

Today In History

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s record on civil rights is often overshadowed by the unpopularity of his decision to involve greater numbers of U.S. troops in Vietnam. On Jan. 4, 1965, in his State of the Union address, Johnson laid out his “Great Society” plan that was the basis for sweeping legislation that included the the civil rights and voting rights acts, but also created Medicare/Medicaid, Head Start, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the White House Conference on Natural Beauty, via History.com.

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