COVID-19

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said during a virtual meeting with essential workers on Wednesday that the administration plans to distribute millions of cloth face masks beginning early next month. According to a statement from the White House, the reusable, American-made masks... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine protects against COVID-19, according to an analysis by U.S. regulators Wednesday that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.  The Food... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders have a potent dynamic on their side as Congress preps for its first votes on the party's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill: Would any Democrat dare cast the vote that scuttles new President Joe Biden's... Read More

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting.Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly... Read More

WASHINGTON — Attitudes toward American colleges and universities may have started evolving before the pandemic set in, but COVID-19 truly upended the higher ed system in ways that are sure to have an impact for years to come.  Through a... Read More

A new study suggests that a genetic variant associated with reduced COVID-19 severity is inherited from Neanderthals. Previously, a genetic factor associated with increased risk of contracting severe COVID-19 was shown to be inherited from Neanderthals. Hugo Zeberg and Svante... Read More

WASHINGTON — Since the earliest days of the pandemic, the CDC has said COVID appeared to have a disproportionate impact on those negatively affected by social determinants of health. These conditions in the environments in which people are born, live,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Representatives from a DC non-profit say the coronavirus has severely increased the reliance of underprivileged communities on their services, which emphasizes the socially destabilizing impacts of the virus. The DC neighborhoods around the headquarters of Martha's Table, a... Read More

President Joe Biden is extending a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 to help homeowners struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium on foreclosures of federally guaranteed mortgages had been set to expire on March 31. On his first... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The meetings begin each day not long after dawn. Dozens of aides report in, coffee in hand, joining by Zoom from agency headquarters, their homes or even adjacent offices.The sessions start with the latest sobering statistics meant... Read More

WASHINGTON — When it comes to COVID restrictions along America’s northern border, the United States and Canada are treating travelers rather differently. While this may not be as concerning for most general discretionary travel, bi-national families are increasingly frustrated with... Read More

Public school classes are resuming this week but some teachers in cities nationwide say they might not be there. They are threatening sickouts or strikes because of the risk of COVID-19 infection if they return to in-class education. The United... Read More

The Centers for Disease Control issued a report on Thursday that said LGBTQ people are more at risk of severe coronavirus than the general American population because of underlying health conditions and called for more data to be collected. According... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. economy undergoes an uneven recovery from the virus pandemic, many small business owners face a tough decision on whether and when to take on employees. The pandemic forced Meghan Gardner to let go... Read More

A new study from DealAid.org shows that over 70% of Americans have made a donation to charitable organizations in 2020, a near 10% increase from those who donated to charities in 2019. Over 1,100 Americans were surveyed to determine how... Read More

President Joe Biden says he wants most schools serving kindergarten through eighth grade to reopen by late April, but even if that happens, it is likely to leave out millions of students, many of them minorities in urban areas. “We’re... Read More

A new database will track the neurological symptoms of the coronavirus in an attempt to figure out how it disrupts body systems and impacts neurology.  The COVID-19 Neuro Databank/Biobank will assist clinicians in trying to prevent, manage, and treat the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly a year it was the Trump show. Now President Joe Biden is calling up the nation’s top scientists and public health experts to regularly brief the American public about the pandemic that has claimed more than 425,000... Read More

A new study published by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on underserved rural colleges and surrounding communities could endanger the stability of local economies, health care systems and social mobility for the... Read More

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — In the first week of December, Portugal’s prime minister gave his pandemic-weary people an early Christmas gift: restrictions on gatherings and travel due to COVID-19 would be lifted from Dec. 23-26 so they could spend the... Read More

ATLANTA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put into effect on Tuesday a new order that mandates all air passengers into the US have taken a viral test for coronavirus infection within three days of their flight. Written... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials.... Read More

President Biden has signed an executive order detailing his administration’s policy plans to reopen schools safely for quality, in-person instruction. The order also details how the administration will begin tackling long-term effects that were created and exacerbated by the pandemic,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Testing wristbands are in. Mask-wearing is mandatory. Desks are socially distanced. The clearest sign that there's a new boss at the White House is the deference being paid to coronavirus public health guidlines. It’s a striking contrast... Read More

WASHINGTON — On the first full day of his term, President Joe Biden announced his plan to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic, entitled “National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.”  Biden’s strategy includes issuing 10 executive orders to... Read More

Interest groups are pleading their cases to state officials in a bid to expedite their constituents’ access to the novel coronavirus vaccine.  Individuals over the age of 70, frontline health care workers, nursing home residents and staff are the first... Read More

The race against the virus that causes COVID-19 has taken a new turn: Mutations are rapidly popping up, and the longer it takes to vaccinate people, the more likely it is that a variant that can elude current tests, treatments... Read More

WASHINGTON - Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Anthony Brown, D-Md., are tired of colleagues who refuse to wear a face mask to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Now, they are urging the House to impose a $1,000 a day... Read More

As the first week of the new year comes to an end, the vaccine distribution system across the country continues to face numerous challenges in producing an effective rollout as the public remains confused on who is supposed to get... Read More

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America CEO Jeremy Butler issued a statement Tuesday condemning Department of Veterans Affairs officials in response to the administration’s handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Butler’s statement was released in response to a MilitaryTimes report... Read More