Category: News

Brazil, which is second to the U.S. in deaths from COVID-19 and third in the world in positive cases, is approaching 180,000 deaths as it suffers through its second wave of the disease caused by the coronavirus.In the past day, more than 53,000 cases and…

The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it…

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday pressed Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn to grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day or face possible firing, two administration officials said.The vaccine produced by Pfizer…

The World Health Organization (WHO) says action and money are needed to ensure coronavirus vaccines are available around the world as Western nations approve them. During Friday’s COVID-19 briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus applauded the fact Britain was already vaccinating…

Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced Friday that beginning Monday, the self-isolation period after contact with confirmed COVID-19 carriers will be shortened from 14 to 10 days in the nation. At her COVID-19 news briefing in Edinburgh, Sturgeon also said that the four-day reduction in…

The United States could be hours away from starting its COVID-19 vaccination program. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reportedly could authorize on Friday or Saturday the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine produced by U.S. drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. An FDA advisory panel voted to recommend approval of the vaccine late Thursday. With the U.S. on the verge of its inoculation program, human rights group Amnesty International’s director of economic and social justice issued a warning.  Steve Cockburn told The…

British health officials are warning that people with a “significant history” of allergic reactions should not receive the new coronavirus vaccine that was rolled out in a mass vaccination program Tuesday, pending investigation of two adverse reactions.  Britian is the first western country to begin the mass vaccinations,…

Clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Australia’s University of Queensland in partnership with biotech company CSL have been abandoned after participants returned false positive HIV test results. The treatment was a key part of Australia’s response to the pandemic, and the government…

A US government advisory panel on Thursday recommended emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, which meant Americans could begin being vaccinated as soon as this weekend. Earlier this week, the country recorded its highest death toll from COVID-19, with more than 3,100 deaths in…

Trial data from Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc has shown their experimental vaccines are effective in preventing novel coronavirus infection.While regulatory processes are underway, few Asian countries expect to receive significant amounts of the vaccines initially. Here are estimated…

The United Nations’ World Food Program was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize in a virtual ceremony Thursday. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the head of the organization warned that hundreds of millions of people are facing starvation around the world, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. …

After nine hours of deliberation Thursday, a special panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for emergency use a coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. The decision was made as the U.S. continues to confirm record numbers of coronavirus…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says “vaccine nationalism” is on the rise as wealthier nations line up to buy millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines at the expense of much poorer nations.During a virtual meeting Wednesday with African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat,…

NASA on Wednesday formally introduced 18 astronauts who will take part in the U.S. space agency’s new manned lunar program.Nine men and nine women are the first group of astronauts assigned to the Artemis program, half of whom have already flown into space. Two of…

After more than 15.3 million total infections, the United States is on the verge of obtaining a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.A special panel of the Food and Drug Administration will meet Thursday morning to consider whether to grant emergency use authorization to the new…

SpaceX launched its shiny, bullet-shaped, straight-out-of-science fiction Starship several miles into the air from a remote corner of Texas on Wednesday, but the 6 1/2-minute test flight ended in an explosive fireball at touchdown.It was the highest and most elaborate flight yet for the rocket…

New global health estimates find people are living six years longer now than 20 years ago, but many more people are living with disabilities that affect their quality of life. The World Health Organization reports life expectancy has gone up from 67 years to 73 years…

British health officials are warning that people with a “significant history” of allergic reactions should not receive the new coronavirus vaccine that was rolled out in a mass vaccination program Tuesday, pending investigation of two adverse reactions. Britain is the first western country to begin…

Canada’s national health agency, Health Canada, announced Wednesday it has approved Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, and Canadians will start receiving it as early as next week. In a statement, Health Canada said that it completed a full independent review of the data on the vaccine’s safety and…

Scientists are watching a giant iceberg in the southern Atlantic Ocean saying it appears to be on a collision course with South Georgia Island and could devastate wildlife there, including penguins, seals and albatross.      Britain’s Royal Air Force, or RAF, Tuesday released video…

British regulators warned Wednesday that people with a history of allergic reactions not to get inoculated with a coronavirus vaccine developed jointly by U.S. drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency issued the warning after two people reported adverse reactions…