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Coronavirus category, Page 48

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Beer is latest vaccine incentive for Biden ‘month of action’
WASHINGTON — Free beer is the latest White House-backed incentive for Americans to get vaccinated for covid-19, as President Joe Biden is announcing a “month of action” Wednesday to get more shots into arms before the July 4 holiday. Speaking from the White House, Biden is set to update the...
Westmoreland jail free of coronavirus for 1st time since March
Westmoreland County prison officials said Tuesday, for the first time since early March, there are no active coronavirus cases among inmates and staff at the jail. “It has been challenging,” Warden Bryan Kline said about the last three months in which more than 100 inmates were infected with the virus...
Allegheny County covid case average hits lowest mark since last June
With lower covid-19 case counts continuing in Pennsylvania and the region, coronavirus figures are reaching lows not seen in about a year. Allegheny County achieved just that with new data released Tuesday. Cases Allegheny County reported 113 new covid-19 cases over the past three days, according to the county Health...
Pa. chooses ‘responsibility’ over $1 million lotteries to encourage covid-19 vaccination
Pennsylvania officials considered tactics such as a lottery to motivate people to get vaccinated against covid-19, and they remain a possibility, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. Some states are touting prizes worth $1 million or more to spur people to get the covid-19 vaccines. But Beam expressed confidence...
Moderna seeks full FDA approval for its covid-19 vaccine
Moderna Inc. said it is seeking a full approval for its covid-19 vaccine, a move that could make a shot cleared on an emergency basis during the pandemic into a stable source of revenue for years to come. The company said in a statement Tuesday that it will submit data...
Covid-19 variants to be labeled as Greek letters
GENEVA — The World Health Organization is announcing a new nomenclature for the covid-19 variants that were previously — and somewhat uncomfortably — known either by their technical letter-number codes or by the countries in which they first appeared. Hoping to strike a fair and more comprehensible balance, WHO said...
Mobile vaccination units hit tiny U.S. towns to boost immunity
FALLON, Nev. — Pick-up truck drivers motor up to a white trailer in a parking lot on Fallon Paiute-Shoshone land in Nevada’s high desert and within a few moments they’re handed forms to sign, jabbed with coronavirus vaccine and sent on their way. The pop-up clinic 60 miles (96 kilometers)...
South Africa returns to stricter lockdown, coronavirus ‘surging’
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday that his country will return to stricter lockdown measures in the face of a sharp rise in covid-19 cases that indicate the virus is “surging again” in Africa’s worst-affected nation. Positive cases in South Africa in the past...
Find covid origin or face another pandemic, U.S. experts warn 
WASHINGTON — The world needs the cooperation of the Chinese government to trace the origins of covid-19 and prevent future pandemic threats, two leading U.S. disease experts said Sunday. Information to support the theory that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, has increased, said...
More states ease lingering virus rules as vaccine rates rise
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, more U.S. cities and states are shrugging off lingering covid-19 restrictions as vaccination rates rise and the number of infections falls. Massachusetts lifted a mask requirement Saturday, a day after New Jersey dropped its mandate. In New York City and...
CDC data indicate U.S. is on track for July 4 vaccination target
The United States is on track to reach a goal calling for 70% of adults to have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine by July 4, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New data released Saturday indicates that more that half of all adults...
Pennsylvania’s new covid case average drops below 1,000 for 1st time since October
Pennsylvania’s seven-day average of new covid cases on Saturday dropped below 1,000 for the first time since October. The state added 832 additional covid cases to its total Saturday, with its seven-day average falling to 909. It’s the first time the average has been in triple digits since Oct. 1,...
European regulator recommends Pfizer vaccine for children 12-15
The European Medicines Agency on Friday recommended that the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech be expanded to children ages 12 to 15, a decision that offers younger and less at-risk populations across the continent access to a covid-19 shot for the first time. The Pfizer-BioNTech...
As vaccinations inch upward, Pennsylvania’s covid cases continue lower
Pennsylvania continues to see a steady drop in cases of covid-19, with resulting deaths and hospitalizations following that downward trend. As vaccinations continue, the coronavirus appears to be spreading at a slower rate even as more people gather in public without protective masks or social distancing. The state on Friday...
West Virginia to offer cash, pickup trucks as vaccine prize
CHARLESTON — West Virginia will step up its prizes for vaccines, enrolling all residents who have received a coronavirus shot into a lottery for the chance to win a college scholarship, an F-150 pickup truck or cash rewards. Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced the plan for the new incentives Thursday,...
Allegheny County lifts mask requirements for its fully vaccinated employees
Fully vaccinated Allegheny County employees will no longer need to wear masks at most worksites. County Manager William D. McKain on Thursday announced the changes to mask policies for employees, contractors and visitors to most county facilities. The updated masking rules do not apply to the Allegheny County Jail, Shuman...
As covid vaccinations continue, Pennsylvania and Allegheny, Westmoreland counties see fewer cases
After Pennsylvania passed a mark Wednesday with more than 70% of adults having at least one dose of a covid vaccine, Alison Beam, Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Secretary, announced Thursday morning that the state’s mask order will be lifted by June 28. Officials, who had said that the state’s...
Pennsylvania will lift mask mandate by June 28 at latest
Pennsylvania’s mask mandate will be lifted no later than June 28, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said Thursday. Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this month set a benchmark for the state: 70% of adults fully vaccinated. Beam said if the state reaches that threshold before June 28, the mask mandate...
Ohio announces 1st $1 million Vax-a-Million lottery winner
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A southwestern Ohio woman won the state’s first $1 million Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prize, while a Dayton-area teen was awarded the first full-ride college scholarship offered by the program, the state announced Wednesday night. The winners were selected in a random drawing Monday and had their information...
Pennsylvania drops legal action against restaurants over pandemic
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Health has dropped its legal action against more than 40 restaurants that were accused of defying state orders to close indoor dining and maintain social-distancing protocols. The Health Department had filed two separate complaints alleging that restaurants were violating pandemic restrictions that Gov. Tom...
Officials: 70% of Pa. adults have received at least 1 dose of covid vaccine
The next phase of the pandemic — one with no restrictions save for masks — could be the last phase if people continue to get vaccinated throughout the summer, officials said Wednesday. “Now with the impending lifting of mitigation orders — except the masking order — we are entering a...
Biden asks U.S. intelligence officials to investigate covid-19 origin
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday asked U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the covid-19 pandemic, including the unlikely possibility that the origins of the virus trace to a Chinese lab. After months of minimizing the possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden...
Allegheny County reports 5th straight day of covid cases under 100
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported its fifth straight day of double-digit covid cases — a streak the county hasn’t seen since October. According to the Allegheny County Health Department, there were 72 additional cases reported to raise the county’s total to 101,056. Totals for the previous four days were 62,...
UPMC touts antibody treatment for covid-19
People who test positive for covid-19 should ask their health care providers about receiving monoclonal antibody treatment as soon as they are diagnosed, UPMC doctors said Wednesday. “Earlier is better. It is important for high-risk patients,” said Dr. Meredith Chuk, allocation, distribution and administration lead for the federal department of...
White House adviser: ‘Get to bottom’ of coronavirus origins
WASHINGTON — White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt says “we need to get to the bottom” of the origins of the pandemic pathogen and the World Health Organization and China need to do more to provide definitive answers for the global community. The precise origin of the virus remains undetermined...


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