COVID-19

WASHINGTON — Early advice from the World Health Organization warned against imposing travel or trade restrictions on countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. Now experts fear the decision by most countries to ignore this advice may have unintended consequences for the future... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Children age 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician's office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected... Read More

Colin Powell, former Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday. He was 84. In an announcement on social media, the family said Powell had been fully vaccinated and was treated at... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health advisers on Friday tackled who should get boosters of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine and when — and whether using a competing brand for the second dose might provide better protection. The push for... Read More

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Nurses around the U.S. are getting burned out by the COVID-19 crisis and quitting, yet applications to nursing schools are rising, driven by what educators say are young people who see the global emergency as an... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — With many Americans who got Pfizer vaccinations already rolling up their sleeves for a booster shot, millions of others who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine wait anxiously to learn when it's their turn. Federal... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added just 194,000 jobs in September, a second straight tepid gain and evidence that the pandemic still has a grip on the economy with many companies struggling to fill millions of open jobs.  Friday's report... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Straining under a pandemic workload and battered by a string of public controversies, one of the leading agencies in the government's fight against COVID-19 is finally on the verge of getting a new commissioner. After nearly nine... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health for 12 years and a key leader in the nation’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, is retiring. Collins, who is 71, said he intends to step down... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Biden administration officials tried to assure a Senate panel Thursday that the nation’s schools are following the right strategy to remain open while minimizing the risk of spreading COVID-19. The new school year is barely a month old... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Merck said Friday that its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world... Read More

Many states are turning to monoclonal antibody treatments to curb the rise in hospitalizations and emergency room visits as COVID-19 cases rise. The demand on orders for the drugs has increased twenty-fold since mid-July, according to a spokesperson from the... Read More

Transgender and non-binary patients seeking gender-affirming surgeries, such as a mastectomy or genital reconstruction, are required to provide a letter from a trained mental health provider in order to receive clearance for surgery. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation... Read More

Nurses and hundreds of other staff members will soon begin wearing panic buttons at a Missouri hospital where assaults on workers tripled after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cox Medical Center Branson is using grant money to add buttons... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Starting this week, everyone employed at San Francisco International Airport must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to report to work, according  to a joint statement from the airport and Mayor London Breed. The airport is the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden on Friday urged those now eligible for COVID-19 booster shots to get the added protection a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the doses for millions of older or otherwise... Read More

The Biden administration announced vaccine mandates that will affect employers with over 100 employees, and now religious exemption requests are pouring in from those who claim that a sincerely held belief keeps them from receiving a vaccine.  “The minute after... Read More

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party secured victory in parliamentary elections but failed to get the majority he wanted in a vote that focused on the coronavirus pandemic but that many Canadians saw as unnecessary. Trudeau entered... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration announced Monday that it will ease restrictions on international travelers coming to the U.S. starting in early November, requiring them to be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination before boarding a U.S. bound plane.... Read More

WASHINGTON - A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously Friday to recommend emergency use authorization of a booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine six months after full vaccination in people 65 and older and those at high risk... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits moved up last week to 332,000 from a pandemic low, a sign that worsening COVID infections may have slightly increased layoffs. Applications for jobless aid rose from 312,000 the week... Read More

An estimated 2,600 Los Angeles Police Department employees are citing religious objections to try to get out of the required COVID-19 vaccination. In Washington state, thousands of state workers are seeking similar exemptions. And in Arkansas, a hospital has been... Read More

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- A year-long study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California finds that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 can actually improve mental health. “We were interested to see what the short-term effects of getting a COVID-19... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden was meeting Wednesday with the CEOs of Walt Disney and Columbia Sportswear, and other business executives and leaders leaders to discuss  his recently announced vaccine requirement for companies  that employ at least 100 people. ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 3 million consumers took advantage of a special six-month period to sign up for subsidized health insurance coverage made more affordable by the COVID-19 relief law, President Joe Biden said Wednesday. He called that number encouraging... Read More

The average person doesn't need a COVID-19 booster yet, an international group of scientists — including two top U.S. regulators — wrote Monday in a scientific journal. The experts reviewed studies of the vaccines' performance and concluded the shots are... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Downtown businesses in the U.S. and abroad once took for granted that nearby offices would provide a steady clientele looking for breakfast, lunch, everyday goods and services and last-minute gifts. As the resilient coronavirus keeps offices... Read More

WASHINGTON — With the public school year already underway around the country, the Food and Drug Administration is not taking chances when it comes to making COVID-19 vaccinations available to children younger than 12 years old. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The United States Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday it would begin issuing new grant program applications for agricultural stakeholders funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Small businesses in certain commodity areas will be able to... Read More

The results of a recent survey from the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk underscore how the coronavirus pandemic has created constraints on the demand for work even as it limits the number of workers available to hire. AGC... Read More