Coronavirus category, Page 8

A rapidly spreading covid variant is highly contagious and can cause breakthrough infections, but it’s not more severe or dangerous than prior strains, local experts say. The omicron subvariant — known as BA.5 — has “really taken off, nationally and locally,” said Dr. Lee Harrison, professor of infectious disease and...

CHICAGO — For people who contracted covid-19 during earlier omicron surges, doctors have some unwelcome news: You are again susceptible to catching the virus. Two new variants of the virus appear to more easily evade immune protection from prior infections, meaning even some who have recovered from a case of...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is calling on people to exercise renewed caution about covid-19, emphasizing the importance of getting booster shots for those who are eligible and wearing masks indoors as two new highly transmissible variants are spreading rapidly across the country. The new variants, labeled BA.4 and BA.5,...

Pennsylvania’s smartphone app that updates covid-19 cases and deaths will stop operating as of Wednesday. The state health department says covid Alert PA, in use since early in the pandemic, is no longer an essential tool, even though the threat isn’t over. “As we move forward through this phase of...

HARRISBURG — Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor, has made a campaign staple out of the allegation that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s policy of readmitting covid-19 patients from hospitals to nursing homes caused thousands of deaths — a baseless claim for which no investigator or researcher has provided any...

WASHINGTON — Many Americans don’t expect to rely on the digital services that became commonplace during the pandemic after covid-19 subsides, according to a new poll, even as many think it’s a good thing if those options remain available in the future. Close to half or more of U.S. adults...

NICE, France — Tourism is booming again in France — and so is covid-19. French officials have “invited” or “recommended” people to go back to using face masks but stopped short of renewing restrictions that would scare visitors away or revive antigovernment protests. From Paris commuters to tourists on the...

LONDON — The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious omicron variants. Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in...

For New York musician Erica Mancini, covid-19 made repeat performances. March 2020. Last December. And again this May. “I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two...

While researchers already discovered a trained dog’s nose can identify covid-19 with its scent-detecting capabilities, dogs have now demonstrated they can also sniff out long-term virus symptoms — often called “long covid” — in patients, researchers in Germany found. Dogs are ” superior smellers ” and are already used to...

Government advisers debated Tuesday if Americans should get a modified covid-19 booster shot this fall — and exactly how best to update it to fight a virus that surely will change even more by then. “That’s the problem — we’re being asked to more or less have a crystal ball...

The virus that causes covid-19 has mutated again and again, and experts say new variants will continue, in part because of the nature of the virus and also because large swaths of the population choose not to be vaccinated. “Should we expect more variants? The answer is yes,” said Dr....

Pfizer announced Saturday that tweaking its covid-19 vaccine to better target the omicron variant is safe and works — just days before regulators debate whether to offer Americans updated booster shots this fall. The vaccines currently used in the U.S. still offer strong protection against severe covid-19 disease and death...

Nearly 20 million lives were saved by covid-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday. On Dec. 8, 2020, a retired shop clerk in England received the first shot in what would...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida-based Publix grocery store chain is not offering the covid-19 vaccine to children younger than 5 but has not explained its decision. The supermarket chain with 1,288 stores in seven Southern states was instrumental in distributing the vaccine when it was initially released. Its website...

Children younger than 5 are beginning to receive covid-19 vaccinations in Western Pennsylvania, offering a long-awaited shot of relief for some parents while others say it’s too soon for them to know whether it’s safe for their kids to get vaccinated. While shots have been widely available for older patients,...

Little Fletcher Pack woke up Monday morning and asked: “Is today vaccine day?” For the 3-year-old from Lexington, South Carolina, the answer was yes. The nation’s infants, toddlers and preschoolers are finally getting their chance at covid-19 vaccination as the U.S. rolls out shots for tots this week. Shipments arrived...

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said Saturday that providers across the state are prepared to begin providing covid vaccines for young children starting early next week. The announcement comes shortly after the approval of two vaccines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and emergency use authorization from the...

NEW YORK — U.S. health advisers on Saturday recommended covid-19 vaccines for infants, toddlers and preschoolers — the last group without the shots. The advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously decided that coronavirus vaccines should be made available to children as young as 6 months, offering...

U.S. regulators on Friday authorized the first covid-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, paving the way for vaccinations to begin next week. The Food and Drug Administration’s action follows its advisory panel’s unanimous recommendation for the shots from Moderna and Pfizer. That means U.S. kids under 5 — roughly 18...

MIAMI — Florida is the only the state that hasn’t preordered covid-19 vaccines for toddlers in anticipation of their final approval by the federal government, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he won’t facilitate their distribution, though he said they’ll be available to those who want them. White House...

The first covid-19 shots for U.S. infants, toddlers and preschoolers moved a step closer Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the littlest kids. The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 81-year-old Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, was experiencing mild covid-19 symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institutes of Health. Fauci...

NEW YORK — A government advisory panel Tuesday endorsed a second brand of covid-19 vaccine for school-age children and teens. The Food and Drug Administration’s outside experts voted unanimously that Moderna’s vaccine is safe and effective enough to give kids ages 6 to 17. If the FDA agrees, it would...