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US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine Monday, potentially boosting public confidence in the shots and instantly opening the way for more universities, companies and local governments to make vaccinations mandatory. The Pentagon promptly announced it will press ahead with plans to force members of the military to get vaccinated amid the battle against the extra-contagious delta variant. The University of Minnesota likewise said it will require its students get the shot, as did Louisiana's major public universities, including LSU, though state law ...

Lockdowns or vaccines? 3 Pacific nations try diverging paths

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Cheryl Simpson was supposed to be celebrating her 60th birthday over lunch with friends but instead found herself confined to her Auckland home. The discovery of a single local COVID-19 case in New Zealand was enough for the government to put the entire country into strict lockdown this past week. While others might see that as draconian, New Zealanders generally support such measures because they worked so well in the past. "I'm happy to go into lockdown, even though I don't like it," said Simpson, owner of a day care center for dogs that is now ...

Record delta wave hits kids, raises fear as US schools open

The day before he was supposed to start fourth grade, Francisco Rosales was admitted to a Dallas hospital with COVID-19, struggling to breathe, with dangerously low oxygen levels and an uncertain outcome. It wasn't supposed to be like this, thought his frightened mother, Yessica Gonzalez. Francisco was normally healthy and rambunctious. At 9, he was too young to get vaccinated, but most of the family had their shots. She had heard kids rarely got sick from the coronavirus. But with the highly contagious delta variant spreading across the U.S., children are filling hospital intensive ...

US health officials call for booster shots against COVID-19

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines' effectiveness is slipping. The plan, as outlined by the chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top health authorities, calls for an extra dose eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The doses could begin the week of Sept. 20. "Our plan is to protect the American people, to stay ahead of this virus," CDC ...

Minnesota State Fair strongly urges masks and vaccinations

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota State Fair officials on Wednesday strongly urged fairgoers to mask up inside and outside, but stopped short of imposing any mask or vaccination mandates to fight the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The updated guidance urges attendees to wear masks indoors, whether vaccinated or not; outdoors in crowded settings, especially for the unvaccinated; and at some booths where vendors will require everyone inside to wear a mask. Fair officials acknowledged that as the Great Minnesota Get-Together returns after a one-year hiatus due to the ...

More protection: US likely to authorize COVID booster shots

WASHINGTON (AP) — After struggling for months to persuade Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. health officials could soon face a fresh challenge: talking vaccinated people into getting booster shots to gain longer-lasting protection as the delta variant sends infections soaring again. As early as Wednesday, U.S. health authorities are expected to recommend an extra dose of the vaccine for all Americans eight months after they get their second shot, according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. That ...