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California Democrats were moving toward requiring COVID-19 vaccines for students and keeping them from opting out of shots with personal belief exemptions. But the California Department of Public Health on Thursday announced it was delaying Gov. Gavin Newsom's school COVID-19 vaccine mandate until next year. And Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, said he was holding Senate Bill 871, which would have closed the personal belief exemption loophole. As the end of the current school year approaches, COVID-19 is no longer at the forefront of voters' minds, there's been a lag in federal approvals for children's vaccines and just more than one-third...

“When porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) showed up, I was boots on the ground. When porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) rolled in, I was boots on the ground,” [Scott] Dee says. He’s served the pork industry as a swine practitioner for 12 years, a university professor for 12 years, and a researcher for 11 years – allowing him to see the industry from so many different perspectives. Maybe it was that unique vantage point, combined with his different way of looking at the problems at hand that helped him achieve legendary success over the years and is behind his...

A new outbreak of Zika virus is quite possible, warn researchers, with a single mutation potentially enough to trigger an explosive spread. The disease caused a global medical emergency in 2016, with thousands of babies born brain-damaged after their mums became infected while pregnant. US scientists say the world should be on the lookout for new mutations.Lab work, described in the journal Cell Reports, suggests the virus could easily shift, creating new variants.Recent infection studies suggest those variants may prove effective at transmitting the virus, even in countries which have built up immunity from previous outbreaks of Zika, say the...

Some 24 million poultry birds like chicken and turkeys have already been lost, either because they died from the virus or were killed to prevent its spread. But unlike a similar bird flu outbreak seven years ago, this one is unlikely to just burn itself out. That’s because this particular flu virus seems capable of hanging around in populations of wild birds, which can pass the virus on to poultry farms. While chickens and turkeys with the virus quickly sicken and die, some waterfowl can remain healthy with the virus and carry it long distances. Scientists believe that wild migratory...

HOUSTON (AP) — Three people who have worked for the top elected official in Harris County were indicted on Monday after being accused by prosecutors of steering a nearly $11 million contract for COVID-19 vaccine outreach to a political consultant with ties to local Democratic officials. Alex Triantaphyllis, Aaron Dunn and Wallis Nader were each indicted on one count of misuse of official information and one count of tampering with a record, according to court records. Triantaphyllis is chief of staff for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, while Wallis Nader is a policy director and Aaron Dunn is a former...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The fast-spreading Omicron variant stoked U.S. interest in better masks for children to ward off COVID-19, and that is adding fuel to an effort that could set the stage for domestic oversight of their quality. While many U.S. states and schools have since stopped requiring mask-wearing for COVID, disease experts say children will still need high-quality masks for everything from current and future pandemics to seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that can cause serious illness and death. "Every year there are opportunities for masks to make a difference - whether it's in the classroom...

recorded the highest-ever concentration of ticks carrying a variant of potentially fatal Powassan virus called deer-tick virus (DTV). This rare virus has the potential to cause deadly infections with lasting neurological effects, and officials fear it and other serious tick-borne illnesses may become more common in the future. While many cases of Powassan virus are asymptomatic, those that are symptomatic can be deadly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)(opens in new tab). Initial symptoms include headache, fever and vomiting, with the most severe cases involving neurological complications such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis....

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - Americans living in poorer counties died during the pandemic at almost twice the rate of those in rich counties, a study released Monday by the Poor People's Campaign showed. "The neglect of poor and low-wealth people in this country during a pandemic is immoral, shocking and unjust, especially in light of the trillions of dollars that profit-driven entities received," said William Barber, director of the Poor People's Campaign, an activist group that aims to correct the United States' income inequality.

A new forensic audit of more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds spent by the city of West Haven indicates approximately 80% of the expenditures should not have been allowed. That doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands of dollars a former state lawmaker and others are accused of stealing from the city. The problematic expenditures - nearly $900,000 of about $1.13 million reviewed by the auditors - were largely ineligible expenses or lacked sufficient justification and documentation. West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, a Democrat, said in a text message to The Associated Press that she had just received the...

Nuremberg, 1947In the 1930s, German medicine and German healthcare institutions were widely considered the most advanced in the world. However, subtle but enormously consequential shifts had been underway decades before Hitler came to power, starting with the rise of the eugenics movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1922, Alfred Hoche and Karl Binding, a psychiatrist and a lawyer, published an influential book, Allowing the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Life. A metaphor from this and other influential works captured the imagination of the German medical establishment, undermining the traditional Hippocratic ethic that had governed medicine since...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to receive a second booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, the White House announced, a day after federal regulators approved a fourth shot for those aged 50 and older. Biden would receive the shot after his administration rolls out covid.gov, what it says is a one-stop website. Biden, 79, received the first series of two doses of the coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office and a first booster shot in September. The additional booster dose will be administered by a member of the White House Medical Unit.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching what it says is a one-stop website that will help people in the United States access COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments, along with status updates on infection rates where they live. President Joe Biden planned remarks Wednesday afternoon to announce the rollout of covid.gov. A White House fact sheet says the government has worked since the start of the Biden administration to set up more than 90,000 vaccination sites, distribute more than 400 million high-quality masks free of charge, send free test kits directly to people’s homes and set up “test to...

Shanghai (AFP) – A top doctor in China's pandemic fight who came under pressure last year for questioning the country’s zero-Covid policy has called again for balancing anti-virus measures with maintenance of normal life as China struggles with an Omicron surge. Shanghai infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong -- who has been called "China's Fauci" after US disease expert Anthony Fauci -- also said in a blog post that the city's medical resources were becoming "strained" as cases climb, but he expects the metropolis to turn the corner soon. Zhang's comments may indicate officials' growing tolerance for those questioning zero-Covid as...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thanks to a sudden $140 million cash infusion, officials in Broward County, Florida, recently broke ground on a high-end hotel that will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and an 11,000-square-foot spa. In New York, Dutchess County pledged $12 million for renovations of a minor league baseball stadium to meet requirements the New York Yankees set for their farm teams. And in Massachusetts, lawmakers delivered $5 million to pay off debts of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston, a nonprofit established to honor the late senator that has struggled financially. The three...

According to a recent headline from The New York Times, “the CDC isn’t publishing large portions of the COVID data it collects.” That headline downplays what the article in fact reveals:Two full years into the pandemic, the agency leading the country’s response to the public health emergency has published only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected, several people familiar with the data said.The article says when the Centers for Disease Control “published the first significant data on the effectiveness of boosters in adults younger than 65…it left out the numbers for a huge portion of that population:...

Washington (AFP) – US biotech firm Moderna on Wednesday said it was pursuing regulatory approval for its Covid vaccine in children aged six months to six years after the two-shot regimen was found to be safe and produced a strong immune response. The results "are good news for parents of children under six years of age," said CEO Stephane Bancel in a statement. "We now have clinical data on the performance of our vaccine from infants six months of age through older adults." The company did however find relatively low vaccine efficacy against infection, with its trial taking place during...

DETROIT (AP) — For years, Laela Bullock moved to her own rhythm when it came to schoolwork. The switch to remote learning, if anything, brought a welcome break from fights in the hallways of the 15-year-old’s Detroit school, but her grades still lagged. Things started turning around with one-on-one tutoring this year — paid for with $1.3 billion the Detroit Public Schools Community District is receiving in federal COVID-19 relief aid. At last, Laela is reading above her grade level, and on track to graduate on time, said her mother, Alicia Bullock. “I’m so proud,” Bullock said. The Detroit school...

The White House on Thursday released new ventilation and air quality guidelines for schools, colleges and other building owners and operators in an effort to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading indoors. The guidance comes as many restrictions, including mask mandates, were lifted in recent weeks across the country as cases and hospitalizations continue to decline nationwide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Pfizer is expected to request authorization this week for an additional COVID-19 booster dose for seniors, according to a person familiar with the matter. It would add a fourth dose to the regimen, which currently consists of a primary series of two shots, followed months later by a booster dose, in an effort to provide maximum protection to the over-65 population that has been hit hardest by the pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control must approve the request. The person who spoke about the upcoming Pfizer authorization request spoke on...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has provided more than $2 billion to help cover funeral costs for more than 300,000 families of people who died from COVID-19, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday as it launches a new campaign to raise awareness about the aid to eligible families. More than 965,000 people have died in the U.S. from the virus. The COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program provides up to $9,000 per funeral and covers COVID-19 related deaths since Jan. 20, 2020. The average amount awarded per death is $6,500, according to FEMA. “FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program has helped...