Coronavirus category, Page 9

Covid-19 cases in Allegheny County have fallen over the past three weeks, and the county dropped in the medium transmission zone as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of new covid cases reported to the county health department from June 2-8 dropped to 2,616 —...

GENEVA — Over two years after the coronavirus was first detected in China, and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organization is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may...

As the covid-19 pandemic has changed with the emergence of new variants, Moderna is looking to update its vaccine offerings in response. The drug manufacturer is studying an updated booster vaccine that targets the omicron variant, which they say could offer better protection as the variant spreads. “The vaccine that’s...

Moderna’s experimental covid-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, the company announced Wednesday. covid-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall to better protect people against future coronavirus surges. Moderna’s preliminary study results show people...

American adults who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated against covid-19 may soon get another choice, as advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday backed a more traditional type of shot. Next, the FDA must decide whether to authorize the vaccine made by latecomer Novavax, a protein vaccine that’s made...

Florida’s covid-19 data was so inaccurate, incomplete and delayed during the first months of the pandemic that government officials and the public may not have had necessary information to determine the effectiveness of the state’s covid-19 precautions and the best plan to fight the virus, according to a state report...

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has tested positive for covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, he wrote Monday on Twitter. Buttigieg spoke at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island last Wednesday and traveled Thursday to Saginaw for an announcement about rail investment. “I plan to work...

TAMPA, Fla. — Working-class Americans died of covid-19 at five times the rate of those in higher socioeconomic positions during the first year of the pandemic, according to a study. The staggering disparity was revealed in a study of roughly 69,000 U.S. coronavirus victims ages 25 to 64 who died...

Most state employees who worked through the covid-19 pandemic will reap their reward this month. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is offering covid-19 retention bonuses to about 45,000 union-represented employees under his jurisdiction who remained on the job and got paid from May 1, 2020, through June 3. The bonus payments...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Thursday that children under 5 may be able to get their first covid-19 vaccination doses as soon as June 21, if federal regulators authorize shots for the age group, as expected. White House covid-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning for the last...

In its weekly update on covid-19 Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 24,862 new cases in the past week. The latest batch of cases are 15% fewer than last week’s report of 29,227. Pennsylvania is now averaging 3,552 new cases per day. Despite the lower number new cases, the...

The University of Pittsburgh and Penn State are requiring people on campus to wear masks when they are indoors at campuses in certain counties. The move comes as a result of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designating those counties as having a high level of covid-19 transmission. The...

Westmoreland County has returned to a high covid-19 risk level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s one of four counties in Western Pennsylvania with that designation. Beaver and Butler counties were also recently returned to that level, along with Allegheny County, which has been in a...

The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. Why? Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta,...

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects covid-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients...

New U.S. research on long covid-19 provides fresh evidence that it can happen even after breakthrough infections in vaccinated people, and that older adults face higher risks for the long-term effects. In a study of veterans published Wednesday, about one-third who had breakthrough infections showed signs of long covid. A...

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health released its weekly update on covid-19, reporting 29,227 new cases in the past week. While the overall number of cases rose 4.8% from May 18 to 24, the growth of new cases week over week dropped significantly. From May 11 to 18, the...

Pfizer said Wednesday that it will provide nearly two dozen products, including its top-selling covid-19 vaccine and treatment, at not-for-profit prices in some of the world’s poorest countries. The drugmaker announced the program at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, and said it was aimed at improving...

Three doses of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the youngest kids get the shots. The news comes after months of anxious waiting by...

BERLIN — The Group of Seven wealthy democracies announced plans Friday to strengthen epidemiological early-warning systems to detect infectious diseases with pandemic potential following the emergence of the coronavirus more than two years ago. Germany’s health minister, who hosted a two-day meeting of his G-7 counterparts in Berlin this week,...

As covid cases continue to tick upward both locally and across the country, medical experts caution that just because you are eligible for a second booster vaccine does not necessarily mean that you should run out and get it if you’re otherwise healthy. “I do not believe that every person...

Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention quickly adopted the panel’s recommendation, opening a third covid-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids — just like what is already recommended for...

WASHINGTON — Covid-19 cases are increasing in the United States – and could get even worse over the coming months, federal health officials warned Wednesday in urging areas hardest hit to consider reissuing calls for indoor masking. Increasing numbers of covid-19 infections and hospitalizations are putting more of the country...

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health released its weekly update on covid-19, showing an additional 27,391 infections in the past seven days. The state is recording new cases of the virus at levels not seen since mid-February. The latest report shows new cases increased 23% over the previous week’s...

If you are traveling internationally or within the United States this summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you test for covid-19 in the days before flying. The agency’s recommendation for all travelers regardless of vaccination status came in an update to its covid-19 testing website on May...