Coronavirus category, Page 36
White House rushes to booster doses as CDC advisers bide timeVideo
U.S. public health advisers are moving slowly toward considering the nationwide plan for booster doses of covid-19 vaccines to ward off the fast-spreading delta variant, even as the Biden administration seeks a Sept. 20 kickoff. While the booster plan laid out earlier this month had targeted individuals who received their...
Texas man who worked against covid measures dies from virus
SAN ANGELO, Texas — A man who led efforts in his Central Texas community against mask wearing and other preventative measures during the coronavirus pandemic has died from covid-19, one month after being admitted to the emergency room. Caleb Wallace died on Saturday, his wife Jessica Wallace said on a...
Russia’s covid deaths hit new high in July
A new report from Russia’s state statistics agency shows the country recorded a record number of deaths in July of people infected with coronavirus. The report from the Rosstat agency said 50,421 people suffering from covid-19 died during the month, sharply higher than the previous record of 44,435 in December....
U.S. intelligence still divided on origins of coronavirus
U.S. intelligence agencies remain divided on the origins of the coronavirus but believe China’s leaders did not know about the virus before the start of the global pandemic, according to results released Friday of a review ordered by President Joe Biden. According to an unclassified summary, four members of the...
Trustee objects to implementation of mask mandate at WCCC
Westmoreland County Community College Board of Trustees member Doug Weimer said he isn’t personally opposed to masks, but on Friday he questioned a mandate issued by the school’s president to require all students, faculty and others to wear face coverings inside the institution’s buildings. “I feel we jumped the gun...
Hempfield Area lists 4 elementary covid cases on first day of school
Hempfield Area School District began the 2021-22 school year with four confirmed or probable cases of covid-19 among elementary students. There were three cases on Thursday, the first day of school, among students at Maxwell Elementary and one at West Hempfield Elementary. The cases were posted Friday afternoon on a...
Judge blocks Florida governor’s order banning mask mandates
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida school districts can legally require their students to wear masks to prevent the spread of covid-19, a judge ruled Friday, saying Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his authority when he issued an executive order banning such mandates. Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper agreed with...
GOP legislative leaders reject Gov. Tom Wolf’s urgent call to consider mask mandate
Republican legislative leaders are standing firm in their position that when it comes to mask mandates in K-12 classrooms and child-care centers, local officials are better positioned to make those calls. In a hand-delivered letter to Gov. Tom Wolf, Republican leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly on Thursday turned down...
Quarantined commissioners say no to Westmoreland courthouse mask mandate
Westmoreland County commissioners, in quarantine this week after exposure to an office staffer who tested positive for coronavirus, said Thursday they will not require masks be worn at the courthouse. Face coverings have been optional for workers and visitors to the courthouse in downtown Greensburg since Gov. Tom Wolf lifted...
Half of U.S. workers favor employee shot mandate: AP-NORC poll
NEW YORK — Half of American workers are in favor of vaccine requirements at their workplaces, according to a new poll, at a time when such mandates gain traction following the federal government’s full approval of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research...
Texas Gov. Abbott continues ban on vaccine mandates, wants Legislature to make it law
AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is continuing to prohibit local governments, state universities and public hospitals from requiring anyone to get a covid-19 shot, despite this week’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration of Pfizer’s vaccine. On Wednesday, Abbott, who is still isolating after testing positive for the...
Experts on WHO team say search for covid origins has stalled
LONDON — The international scientists dispatched to China by the World Health Organization to find out where the coronavirus came from said Wednesday the search has stalled and warned that the window of opportunity for solving the mystery is “closing fast.” Meanwhile, a U.S. intelligence review ordered up by President...
Covid cases, hospitalizations continue to rise in Allegheny, Westmoreland
The latest reports of coronavirus cases show new cases are being found at increasingly higher numbers. Hospitalizations are also rising, although not as rapidly. Over the past week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported 24,875 new covid cases. Of that number, 21% (5,227) are old test results dating back...
Wolf asks Republican leaders to return to Harrisburg and pass school mask mandate
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on the Republican-led legislature to return to the Capitol immediately to pass legislation mandating...
Excela Health seeing increase in covid cases, with nearly all hospitalizations for unvaccinated people
The vast majority of covid-19 patients at Excela Health’s three hospitals have not been vaccinated against the virus, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carol Fox. “Our numbers have dramatically increased in the last month,” she said, pointing to a “tenfold” uptick in covid patients compared to the three patients...
Johnson & Johnson reports its booster shot increases antibodies ninefold
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson says a booster shot of its covid-19 vaccine appears to produce “a rapid and robust” increase in antibodies needed to fight the coronavirus. The drugmaker says researchers saw a ninefold increase in antibodies than levels seen about a month after the first dose...
New N.Y. governor adds 12,000 deaths to publicized covid tally
ALBANY, N.Y. — Delivering another blow to what’s left of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legacy, New York’s new governor acknowledged on her first day in office that the state has had nearly 12,000 more deaths from covid-19 than Cuomo told the public. “The public deserves a clear, honest picture of...
Ohio State students, faculty, staff required to receive covid-19 vaccine
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University will require all students, faculty and staff to complete the full coronavirus vaccination process by Nov. 15. School President Kristina Johnson said Tuesday that the requirement is based on the decision by the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to grant full approval to the...
Missouri attorney general sues to stop school mask mandates
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to stop school districts from enforcing mask mandates, requirements aimed at slowing the spread of covid-19. The lawsuit names Columbia Public Schools along with the district’s Board of Education and board members, but is a class action lawsuit that...
Worker support grows for harsher vaccine stances from employers
As U.S. regulatory approval of Pfizer’s covid-19 shot paves the way for companies to get more aggressive with inoculations, American workers are increasingly supportive of punitive measures for unvaccinated colleagues. A survey released Tuesday by human-resources consultant Eagle Hill showed that 41% of workers polled agreed that non-vaccinated employees should...
Disney reaches vaccination agreement with union workers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida’s Walt Disney World will now require union employees as well as non-union and salaried workers to be fully vaccinated against covid-19 to keep their jobs at the theme park. The company also said Wednesday it would soon require vaccines for its cruise passengers ages 12...
West Virginia’s largest private employer issues worker vaccine mandate
CHARLESTON — The West Virginia University Health System, the state’s largest private employer, announced Monday that it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Oct. 31 as covid-19 cases continue to grow exponentially statewide. The mandate applies to workers at all of the WVU Health...
Rev. Jesse Jackson and wife remain hospitalized for covid-19
CHICAGO — Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, remained hospitalized Monday after testing positive for covid-19, family members said. Both were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Saturday, with their age as a factor, according to their son Jonathan Jackson. Jesse Jackson is 79 and...
5 things to know about the Pfizer covid vaccine approvalVideo
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its full approval of the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine Monday. The move comes eight months after the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for emergency use in the United States. Infectious disease experts hope the full approval will inspire those wary of the vaccine to now...
Pentagon to mandate covid-19 vaccine, as Pfizer is approved
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says it will require service members to receive the covid-19 vaccine now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making good on his vow earlier this month to require the shots once the...
