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CORONAVIRUS

US increasingly unlikely to meet Biden’s July 4 vax goal

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, President Joe Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the coronavirus pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks. Now, though, the U.S. is unlikely to meet his target to have 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4. The White House has launched a month-long blitz to combat vaccine hesitancy and a lack of urgency to get shots, particularly in the South and Midwest, but it is increasingly resigned to missing the president's vaccination target. The administration insists that even if the goal isn't reached, it will have little ...

Minnesota offers giveaways for getting COVID-19 vaccine

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz hopes giveaways including Minnesota State Fair tickets, fishing licenses and state park passes will help pick up the pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Minnesota, which has slowed. The Democratic governor on Thursday announced that 100,000 people who are vaccinated between Memorial Day weekend and the end of June will be eligible to choose between nine vaccine reward options. The incentives include college baseball tickets, amusement parks passes and a $25 Visa card, among other options. Walz called the incentive program a "wonderful ...

Biden orders more intel investigation of COVID-19 origin

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence officials to "redouble" their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory. After months of minimizing that possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is joining worldwide pressure for China to be more open about the outbreak, aiming to head off GOP complaints the president has not been tough enough as well as to use the opportunity to press China on alleged obstruction. Biden asked U.S. intelligence ...

India virus death toll passes 300,000, 3rd highest in world

NEW DELHI (AP) — India crossed another grim milestone Monday with more than 300,000 people lost to the coronavirus, while a devastating surge of infections appeared to be easing in big cities but was swamping the poorer countryside. The milestone, as recorded by India's Health Ministry, comes as slowed vaccine deliveries have marred the country's fight against the pandemic, forcing many to miss their shots, and a rare but fatal fungal infection affecting COVID-19 patients has worried doctors. India's death toll is the third-highest reported in the world after the U.S. and Brazil, ...

Pace of COVID-19 vaccinations picks up in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's coronavirus vaccination rate has accelerated after several weeks of sluggish inoculation numbers. The state pace remained above 40,000 shots a day on Sunday, a level not previously seen for more than two weeks. Data shows a big increase in first vaccine doses which now average nearly 18,000 a day, up from about 10,000 a day a week ago. Some of the increase can likely be attributed to 12- to 15-year-olds who are now eligible for the vaccine. Minnesota was averaging 60,000 shots a day at one point last month before the numbers began dropping, ...

COVID testing’s value shrinks as vaccines beat back virus

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials' new, more relaxed recommendations on masks have all but eclipsed another major change in guidance from the government: Fully vaccinated Americans can largely skip getting tested for the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that most people who have received the full course of shots and have no COVID-19 symptoms don't need to be screened for the virus, even if exposed to someone infected. The change represents a new phase in the epidemic after nearly a year in which testing was the primary weapon ...