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CORONAVIRUS

Fauci: US in ‘a different moment’ but pandemic not over

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday the coronavirus is under better control in the United States. but the pandemic isn't over — and the challenge is how to keep improving the situation. "We are in a different moment of the pandemic," said Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, in an interview with The Associated Press. After a brutal winter surge, "we've now decelerated and transitioned into more of a controlled phase," he said. "By no means does that mean the pandemic is over." His comments came a day after he said on the PBS "NewsHour" that the U.S. was "out of the ...

Harris positive for COVID-19, Biden not a ‘close contact’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. Neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a "close contact" of Harris in recent days, said the vice president's press secretary, Kirsten Allen. Harris had been scheduled to attend Biden's Tuesday morning Presidential Daily Brief but was not present, the White House said. She had returned Monday from a ...

CDC estimates 3 in 4 kids have had coronavirus infections

NEW YORK — Three out of every four U.S. children have been infected with the coronavirus and more than half of all Americans had signs of previous infections, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers estimated in a report Tuesday. The researchers examined blood samples from more than 200,000 Americans and looked for virus-fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines. They found that signs of past infection rose dramatically between December and February, when the more contagious omicron variant surged through the U.S. For Americans of all ages, about 34% had ...

Most of Beijing to be tested amid lockdown worry

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. The Chinese capital began mass testing people in one of its 16 districts where most of the new cases have been found. The city also imposed lockdowns on individual residential buildings and one section of the city. Late in the day, health officials said the testing would be expanded Tuesday to all but five outlying districts. While only 70 cases ...

Teachers accused of faking vaccination cards

NEW YORK (AP) — Officials say several dozen New York City teachers and other school employees have been placed on unpaid leave for submitting fraudulent proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The United Federation of Teachers says the disciplinary action violates its collective bargaining agreement. A spokesperson fir the city Department of Education says the employees in question were placed on leave as of Monday after investigators determined that they had provided false vaccine cards. The UFT said in a notice of claim filed Friday that about 82 of its members are ...

Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge's order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs, officials said. The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week. A notice of appeal was filed Wednesday in federal court in Tampa. The CDC said in a statement that it is its "continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation ...