COVID

​​Parents are contending with strained supplies of children's pain relievers such as Tylenol and Motrin amid a trifecta of early and severe respiratory illnesses.

• Children's ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help treat fevers, coughs, headaches and other symptoms associated with COVID-19, RSV and the seasonal flu.

We reviewed the most-read stories from this year and considered their collective impact on our community.

• While it all seemed to happen in a mere blink, 2022 brought its fair share of change and forced public discourse on social issues, setting the political stage for next year.

The Washington County Quorum Court voted Thursday night to spend $18.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to expand and upgrade the county jail.

The intrigue: Talk of using ARPA money for the jail has been a point of contention among county officials and constituents for months.

The 2023 Highlands Gravel Classic will again be part of the Union Cycliste International Gravel World Series.

Why it matters: The Highlands race is the only U.S. qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships next year, which will happen in Italy in September 2023.

Arkansas' American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Steering Committee on Thursday gave its OK for $91.9 million in ARPA funding to advance various health care-related projects.

Why it matters: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated inadequacies, stress points and financial issues in Arkansas' health care system.

About 4% of fully vaccinated people — those with the first two shots of Pfizer, Moderna or Novavax or a single shot of Johnson & Johnson — in Arkansas have received the new bivalent booster shot.

Why it matters: The latest COVID booster is intended to be more effective at targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant, which makes up most cases of COVID-19 in the U.S.

You can now get a revamped COVID-19 booster shot designed to better protect against the most dominant strains of the virus.

Why it matters: The boosters are becoming available ahead of winter, when cases tend to rise, and can help ward off hospitalizations and death linked to the virus, Joel Tumlison, medical director for immunizations at the Arkansas Department of Health, said Tuesday afternoon during a call with reporters.

A new COVID-19 variant, BA.5, is now the dominant strain in the U.S., Axios' Tina Reed writes.

Why it matters: The variant is the most transmissible to date.