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EU countries prolong COVID-19 certificates amid rising cases

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries approved Tuesday extending the use of COVID-19 certificates by one year until the end of June 2023 as cases of the deadly virus start to grow again ahead of the summer holiday season. Aimed at facilitating travel across the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic, the certificates entered into force in July last year and have been a successful tool to help EU citizens move in the region in coronavirus times without restrictions such as quarantines. EU countries have issued nearly 2 billion certificates. The document attests that a person has been ...

FDA advisers recommend updating COVID-19 booster shots for fall

At least some U.S. adults may get updated COVID-19 shots this fall, as government advisers voted Tuesday that it's time to tweak booster doses to better match the most recent virus variants. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration wrestled with how to modify doses now when there's no way to know how the rapidly mutating virus will evolve by fall — especially since people who get today's recommended boosters remain strongly protected against COVID-19's worst outcomes. Ultimately the FDA panel voted 19-2 that COVID-19 boosters should contain some version of the super-contagious ...

COVID-19 vaccines available for young children in Brown County

Children ages 6 months and older can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines for the youngest population underwent clinical trials showing their efficacy with no reports of rare or serious side effects. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 has caused more than 2 million cases, 20,000 hospitalizations, and 200 deaths among U.S. children ages 6 months to 5 years. More than half of hospitalized children ages 6 months to 4 years had no underlying conditions. The FDA and the CDC approved both a Moderna and Pfizer product for those under age 5. The Moderna vaccine ...

Congress approves free student meal extension through summer

Congress passed a bill Friday that aims to keep up the expanded, pandemic-era distribution of free meals for all students this summer. Final passage of the Keep Kids Fed Act in the U.S. House came less than a week before rule changes for child nutrition programs were set to expire June 30. "Our action today staves off a dangerous hunger cliff: ensuring universal free meals for all children throughout this summer, while helping schools keep up supply chain snags and rising costs for the upcoming school year," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, in a statement. The bill now goes ...

Fauci says he’s ‘example’ for COVID-19 vaccinations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says his COVID-19 recovery is an "example" for the nation on the protection offered by vaccines and boosters. Speaking during a White House briefing, Fauci, 81, said he began experiencing virus symptoms on June 14 and tested positive a day later. He was prescribed the anti-viral drug Paxlovid, which has proven to be highly effective at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, on June 15. "I'm still feeling really quite fine," Fauci said Thursday, as the administration emphasized the ...

COVID vaccines saved 20 million lives in 1st year, scientists say

Nearly 20 million lives were saved by COVID-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday. On Dec. 8, 2020, a retired shop clerk in England received the first shot in what would become a global vaccination campaign. Over the next 12 months, more than 4.3 billion people around the world lined up for the vaccines. The effort, though marred by persisting inequities, prevented deaths on an unimaginable scale, said Oliver Watson of Imperial College London, who led the ...