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CORONAVIRUS

Biden boosting vaccine allotments, financing for virus costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration announced Tuesday that it is moving to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, freeing up more doses for states and beginning to distribute them to retail pharmacies next week. The push comes amid new urgency to speed vaccinations to prevent the spread of potentially more serious strains of the virus that has killed more than 445,000 Americans. Starting next week, 1 million doses will be distributed to some 6,500 pharmacies across the country, the White House said. The administration is also boosting by 500,000 the weekly allocation ...

Pandemic’s deadliest month in US ends with signs of progress

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The deadliest month yet of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. drew to a close with certain signs of progress: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are plummeting, while vaccinations are picking up speed. The question is whether the nation can stay ahead of the fast-spreading mutations of the virus. The U.S. death toll has climbed past 440,000, with over 95,000 lives lost in January alone. Deaths are running at about 3,150 per day on average, down slightly by about 200 from their peak in mid-January. But as the calendar turned to February on Monday, the ...

Minnesota expands vaccine supply for seniors and educators

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More than 35,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be reserved this week for Minnesotans aged 65 and older after the state received a boost in supplies from the federal government, state health officials announced Monday. The state will open large-scale community vaccination sites in Minneapolis and Duluth this week for seniors, with the Minneapolis site also serving educators and child care workers. A third site in southern Minnesota will open next week, and additional sites may open in coming weeks or months. The community sites will be allotted 6,000 total ...

Anxiety grows as long-term care awaits COVID-19 vaccines

Frustration is building over the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations at long-term care sites, where some homes still await first shots while fending off a virus that can devastate their residents. The major drugstore chains tasked with giving shots in these places are far along in vaccinating nursing home residents and staff. But some other types of group residences won't receive first doses until mid-February or later, despite being among the top priorities for shots. CVS and Walgreens have started a massive vaccination push in nearly all states, and they say they are proceeding on ...

Biden opens sign-up window for uninsured in time of COVID-19

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered government health insurance markets to reopen for a special sign-up window, offering uninsured Americans a haven as the spread of COVID-19 remains dangerously high and vaccines aren't yet widely available. Biden signed an executive order directing the HealthCare.gov insurance markets to take new applications for subsidized benefits, something Donald Trump's administration had refused to do. He also instructed his administration to consider reversing other Trump health care policies, including curbs on abortion counseling and ...

Virus variant from South Africa detected in US for 1st time

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A new variant of the coronavirus emerged Thursday in the United States, posing yet another public health challenge in a country already losing more than 3,000 people to COVID-19 every day. The mutated version of the virus, first identified in South Africa, was found in two cases in South Carolina. Public health officials said it's almost certain that there are more infections that have not been identified yet. They are also concerned that this version spreads more easily and that vaccines could be less effective against it. The two cases were discovered in ...