Breaking News

CORONAVIRUS

Experts: Virus surge in Europe a cautionary tale for US

Optimism is spreading in the U.S. as COVID-19 deaths plummet and states ease restrictions and open vaccinations to younger adults. But across Europe, dread is setting in with another wave of infections that is closing schools and cafes and bringing new lockdowns. The pandemic's diverging paths on the two continents can be linked in part to the much more successful vaccine rollout in the U.S. and the spread of more contagious variants in Europe. Health experts in the U.S., though, say what's happening in Europe should serve as a warning against ignoring social distancing or dropping ...

FDA says single-dose shot from J&J prevents severe COVID

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, according to an analysis released Wednesday by U.S. regulators that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic. The long-anticipated shot could offer the nation a third vaccine option and help speed vaccinations by requiring just one dose instead of two. Food and Drug Administration scientists confirmed that overall the vaccine is about 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, and about 85% effective against the ...

After mental health break, a turnaround at Detroit Mercy

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mercy's men's basketball team began the season with three games in five days. A week later, a matchup with Kentucky was canceled. Then on the last weekend of December, there was some uncertainty about whether a couple games against rival Oakland would be played. They were, but Detroit Mercy coach Mike Davis wasn't happy about it. "I said enough is enough," Davis recalled. "We're taking some time off." After the two games against Oakland, the Detroit Mercy program paused activities, citing not positive COVID-19 tests or contact tracing issues but the mental ...

Drug executives: Big jump in vaccine supply is coming soon

WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 vaccine makers told Congress on Tuesday to expect a big jump in the delivery of doses over the coming month, and the companies insist they will be able to provide enough for most Americans to get inoculated by summer. By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have provided the U.S. government with a total of 220 million vaccine doses, up sharply from the roughly 75 million shipped so far. "We do believe we're on track," Moderna President Stephen Hoge said, outlining ways the company has ramped up production. "We think we're at a very good ...

Half a million dead in US, confirming virus’s tragic reach

For weeks after Cindy Pollock began planting tiny flags across her yard — one for each of the more than 1,800 Idahoans killed by COVID-19 — the toll was mostly a number. Until two women she had never met rang her doorbell in tears, seeking a place to mourn the husband and father they had just lost. Then Pollock knew her tribute, however heartfelt, would never begin to convey the grief of a pandemic that has now claimed 500,000 lives in the U.S. and counting. "I just wanted to hug them," she said. "Because that was all I could do." After a year that has darkened doorways across ...

Biden mourns 500,000 dead, balancing nation’s grief and hope

WASHINGTON (AP) — With sunset remarks and a national moment of silence, President Joe Biden on Monday confronted head-on the country's once-unimaginable loss — half a million Americans in the COVID-19 pandemic — as he tried to strike a balance between mourning and hope. Addressing the "grim, heartbreaking milestone" directly and publicly, Biden stepped to a lectern in the White House Cross Hall, unhooked his face mask and delivered an emotion-filled eulogy for more than 500,000 Americans he said he felt he knew. "We often hear people described as ordinary Americans. There's ...