Tag Archives: COVID Vaccine

The Associated Press reports: The NFL is requiring players, coaches and other team personnel to receive a COVID-19 booster by Dec. 27. In a memo sent to teams on Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league said: “Given the increased prevalence of the virus in our communities, our experts have recommended that we implement the CDC’s recommendation.” Teams …

The Associated Press reports: The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an …

The Associated Press reports:  One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis. The …

ABC News reports: With nearly 5 million children ages 5 to 11 now vaccinated against COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says real-world monitoring finds vaccines are safe for young children. Crucially, the CDC hasn’t identified any concerns with the temporary heart inflammation known as myocarditis, a potential side effect of mRNA vaccines seen in …

The New York Times reports: Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in …

The Washington Post reports: The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel declining to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by their prescribed deadlines is as high as 40,000, with new Army data showing that, days ahead of its cutoff, 3 percent of soldiers either have rejected President Biden’s mandate or sought a long-shot exemption. Military leaders have few options to address …

Reuters reports: Two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regimens do not induce enough neutralising antibodies against the Omicron coronavirus variant, British scientists found, indicating that increased infections in those previously infected or vaccinated may be likely. Researchers from the University of Oxford published results on Monday from a study yet to be peer-reviewed, where they analysed blood samples from participants who were given …

Reuters reports: The United States on Sunday reached 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths, as the nation braces for a potential surge in infections due to more time spent indoors with colder weather and the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. The milestone means the U.S. death toll from this one virus now exceeds the entire population of North Dakota. Even with …

The Hill reports: White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday said health officials will “have to deal with it” if it is determined that another COVID-19 booster shot is necessary to protect against the virus, but said he is hoping that additional jabs will not be needed due to protection from initial booster shots. “If it becomes necessary to …

The Washington Post reports: A slim majority of American adults support religious exemptions to coronavirus vaccine mandates, but most also say that too many people are using their faith as an excuse to avoid immunization, a new survey found. The poll by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core found that 51 percent of adults favor letting …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: Gov. Tony Evers is asking the Biden administration to send 100 federal health care workers to Wisconsin and is utilizing National Guard nurses in state mental health hospitals as hundreds of health care facilities say they need help to combat staffing shortages and a surge of COVID-19 cases. Hospitals and long-term care facilities in Wisconsin are …

The Associated Press reports: Vaccine makers are racing to update their COVID-19 shots against the newest coronavirus threat even before it’s clear a change is needed, just in case. Experts doubt today’s shots will become useless but say it’s critical to see how fast companies could produce a reformulated dose and prove it works — because whatever happens with omicron, …

The Washington Post reports: Across America, many of the nearly 50 million people infected with the coronavirus continue to suffer from some persistent symptoms, with a smaller subset experiencing such unbearable fatigue and other maladies that they can’t work, forcing them to drop out of the workforce, abandon careers and rack up huge debts. Hard data is not available and …

The Associated Press reports: Nearly 500 Los Angeles Unified School District employees were fired this week for refusing to comply with a mandate that they get vaccinated against COVID-19, while some 34,000 students have not yet been vaccinated as required. The school board voted 7-0 in separate motions on Tuesday to terminate 496 employees, who make up less than 1% …

The Daily Beast reports: Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with CNN Wednesday that his previous position regarding the definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated has evolved. Changing the definition to include booster shots is now a matter of “when, not if,” he said, though he indicated that was his personal opinion. The statement comes a …

Chicago’s NBC News affiliate reports: An Illinois Democratic lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require individuals who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 to pay for their own medical expenses, including hospital bills, if they contract the virus. State Rep. Jonathon Carroll filed HB 4259 on Monday in Springfield. The legislation would impact those residents who choose not to receive …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of federal contractors, the latest in a string of victories for Republican-led states pushing back against Biden’s pandemic policies. U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker, in Augusta, Georgia, issued a stay to bar enforcement of the mandate nationwide. …

The Associated Press reports: Italy is making life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people this holiday season, excluding them from indoor restaurants, theaters and museums starting Monday to reduce the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine skeptics to get their shots. Italian police can check whether diners in restaurants or bars have a “super” green health pass certifying that they are …

USA Today reports: A new study found that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine serves as an effective booster on top of full vaccination from the Pfizer vaccine. A J&J booster, administered six months after two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, increased antibody and T-cell responses, according to the study, demonstrating potential benefits of mix-and-match boosters. “There is early evidence …

Reuters reports: Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Saturday to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to help turn the tide on a fourth wave of cases that she said had become “dramatic” in parts of the country. “We are in a very serious situation. In some parts of the country you can only describe it as dramatic: overfilled intensive care …