Vaccine inequities emerge again | Coronavirus Updates Newsletter

The gist: As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for kids continues, data suggests that equitable access for Philadelphians is still a challenge. Among the youngest age groups, federal regulations prevent pharmacists from vaccinating children younger than 3, which drastically reduces where kids can get their shots. Meanwhile, in North Philly, Ala Stanford visited a health center to check in on the vaccination effort.

📥 Tell us: What’s making your life better right now as you navigate the pandemic? Send us a note, and we’ll share some responses in next week’s newsletter. Please keep it to 35 words.

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— Nick Vadala (@njvadala, health@inquirer.com)

Ensuring equitable access to COVID vaccines for all Philadelphians, regardless of race or income, remains a challenge — an obstacle that is now showing itself among vaccination rates of 5- to 11-year-olds. Staff at the Black Doctors Consortium say that while getting any kid vaccinated is a win, as the focus on COVID has waned, old inequities are reasserting themselves.

💉 Federal regulations prevent pharmacists from vaccinating children younger than 3, resulting in a a drastic reduction in the places parents can get their young children shots.

🏥 As the rollout of COVID vaccines for babies and children continues, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 3 office leader Ala Stanford paid a visit to a North Philly health center.

💰 Shoppers and diners have returned to Center City, in numbers that are nearly comparable to levels seen before the pandemic.

😡 Since the pandemic started, threats and assaults on Philadelphia Parking Authority officers have increased by 300%.

📈 Coronavirus cases are rising slightly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Track the latest data here.

We’re asking what’s making your life better right now as you navigate the pandemic. Here’s what you told us:

🍲 “What’s making my life better as we navigate the pandemic are: working from home, Zoom meetings, fine dining take out food.”

The largest parade of canoes and kayaks ever assembled happened in 2019 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. But now, New Jersey kayaker and triathlete Sandy Rinderer wants to bring that record home to the Garden State, and she needs your help. Rinderer, 70, wants at least 400 canoes and kayaks paddling on a section of the Toms River in Pine Beach next month, and if you go, you, too, could make history.

🌳 American chestnut trees were once the king of Pennsylvania’s forests, and now, a group of researchers and volunteers are helping the species to retake their former throne.

🦐 It’s officially summer, and nothing fits the season quite like some seafood down the Shore. These are some of the best places to get your fishy fix.

🚸 School’s out, yes, but you don’t need to panic about what to do with the kiddos. Here, we’ve got more than a dozen options in the region to help keep them occupied.

When Inquirer readers donated more than $30,000 to a GoFundMe page set up in Ariq Barrett’s name after we featured him in a story in January, he knew just what to do. Barrett, a 37-year-old chef and father of three, used the donations to keep his Black Kidz Can Cook summer camp program alive and to bring 80 more kids into the camp this year, free of charge. The funds have also allowed him to make his pandemic-era program, Kidz Meals on Wheels, a permanent nonprofit that delivers healthy meals to kids, all year round.