More vaccines, fewer mask rules as US keeps fighting COVID

By JEFFREY COLLINS and MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

The United States is steadily chipping away at vaccine hesitancy and driving down COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations to the point that schools, governments and corporations are lifting mask restrictions yet again. Nearly 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated. Nearly 98% of the over-65 population has received at least one COVID-19 shot and more than 25% of them have gotten boosters. The improving metrics could get a boost from President Joe Biden’s workplace mandate and the launch of COVID-19 shots in elementary school students. But some experts warn the virus isn’t going away and it could spread more easily with people indoors this winter.