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CORONAVIRUS

J&J vaccine to remain in limbo

AP Medical Writers Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will remain in limbo for a while longer after government health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the risk really is. The reports are exceedingly rare — six cases out of more than 7 million U.S. inoculations with the one-dose vaccine. But the government recommended a pause in J&J vaccinations this week, not long after European regulators declared that such clots are a rare but possible risk with the AstraZeneca ...

Tweaked COVID vaccines in testing aim to fend off variants

AP Medical Writer Dozens of Americans are rolling up their sleeves for a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine — this time, shots tweaked to guard against a worrisome mutated version of the virus. Make no mistake: The vaccines currently being rolled out across the U.S. offer strong protection. But new studies of experimental updates to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines mark a critical first step toward an alternative if the virus eventually outsmarts today’s shots. “We need to be ahead of the virus,” said Dr. Nadine Rouphael of Emory University, who is helping to lead a study of ...

Governors scramble to speed vaccine effort after slow start

Associated Press New York’s governor threatened to fine hospitals if they don’t use their allotment of COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. His South Carolina counterpart warned health care workers they have until Jan. 15 to get a shot or move to the back of the line. California’s governor wants to use dentists to vaccinate people. With frustration rising over the sluggish rollout of the vaccine, state leaders and other politicians around the U.S. are turning up the pressure, improvising and seeking to bend the rules to get shots in arms more quickly. Meanwhile, U.S. Health and Human ...

Fauci: US could soon give 1 million vaccinations a day

AP Medical Writer The U.S. could soon be giving at least a million COVID-19 vaccinations a day despite the sluggish start, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, even as he warned of a dangerous next few weeks as the coronavirus surges. The slow pace is frustrating health officials and a desperate public alike, with only about a third of the first supplies shipped to states used as of Tuesday morning, just over three weeks into the vaccination campaign. “Any time you start a big program, there’s always glitches. I think the glitches have been worked out,” the nation’s top ...

Vaccination campaign picks up speed around the world

Associated Press The drive to vanquish the coronavirus gained ground Monday when Britain introduced another COVID-19 vaccine and the first people inoculated in the U.S. began rolling up their sleeves for their second and final dose. Authorities in France and elsewhere in Europe, meanwhile, came under fire for slow rollouts and delays. Helen Cordova, an intensive care nurse, got her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center along with other doctors and nurses, the prescribed three weeks after they received their first shot at the start of the ...

Statehouses could prove to be hothouses for virus infection

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — As lawmakers around the U.S. convene this winter to deal with the crisis created by the pandemic, statehouses themselves could prove to be hothouses for infection. Many legislatures will start the year meeting remotely, but some Republican-controlled statehouses, from Montana to Pennsylvania, plan to hold at least part of their sessions in person, without requiring masks. Public health officials say that move endangers the safety of other lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists, the public and the journalists responsible for holding politicians accountable. The risk is ...