COVID-19

A day after China announced the rollback of some of its most stringent COVID-19 restrictions, people across the country are greeting the news with a measure of relief but also caution, as many wait to see how the new approach will be implemented.

Some voiced concerns about its rapid development and others cited objections based on certain COVID-19 vaccines’ remote connection to abortions. The military services have come under fire for rejecting the vast majority of religious exemption requests — only about 190 have been approved. WHAT THE LEGISLATION WOULD AND WOULDN'T DOThe bill would require Austin to end the vaccine mandate “not later than 30 days” after the law is enacted. The legislation, however, doesn’t end or address requirements for the other vaccines that troops must get. Military leaders worry that if troops refuse the vaccine in large numbers, similar outbreaks could occur.

Congress’ move to eliminate the Pentagon mandate that all U.S. service members get the COVID-19 vaccine delivers a victory for lawmakers and troops who oppose getting the shot.

The overwhelming majority of Marines, soldiers and sailors have been vaccinated against Covid, but several thousand have been kicked out for refusing the shots.

Pfizer said the FDA has accepted its RSV vaccine candidate for review under an expedited process that reduces the approval process by four months.

The mandate that members of the U.S. military must be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus would be rescinded this week if Congress passes the annual defense spending bill, The Associated Press is reporting. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. military members would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress. The National Defense Authorization Act (or NDAA) was unveiled on Tuesday night and it included rescinding the mandate. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday that both Austin and Biden were in favor of keeping the vaccine mandate in place. The legislation mandates that the Pentagon rescind the vaccine mandate within 30 days of the president signing the bill into law.

China is the last major country still trying to stamp out transmission of the virus while many nations switch to trying to live with it.

A Connecticut investigation has found that prison employees misused a COVID-19 program that provided them with hotel rooms during the pandemic.

Chinese health authorities on Wednesday announced that some the country's Draconian COVID-19 policies would be rolled back following widespread anti-lockdown protests.

The more people drop out of the labor force, the worse it will be.

Southwest's 18 cents-a-share dividend will pay out on Jan. 31

MONTEMOR-O-NOVO, Portugal — (AP) — Dissident Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is taking heart from recent public protests in China over the authorities’ strict COVID-19 policy, but he doesn’t see them bringing about any significant political change. And he recalls that the Chinese Communist Party has some 100 million members, all loyal to the regime. Though “not at all” hopeful of meaningful change in China in the foreseeable future, Ai sees encouraging signs in the protests. Long an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, Ai was detained by the authorities for almost three months in 2011. On Saturday, in a show of support for the Chinese protesters, Ai will appear at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park.

The latest moves have been highly publicized — a possible effort to quell public anger — but it was unclear whether they were a response to the protests. “We will look at it, study and judge, and analyze again,” said Liang, one of China’s most prominent anti-epidemic experts. China is the last major country still trying to do that while the United States and other governments have eased travel and other curbs. Complaints that families are confined for weeks at a time with uncertain access to food and medicine were a key driver of the protests. In Shanghai, some protesters shouted the politically explosive demand for Xi, China’s most influential figure in decades, to resign.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — (AP) — A New Zealand court temporarily took away medical custody of a baby from his parents on Wednesday after they refused blood transfusions for him unless the blood came from donors who were unvaccinated against COVID-19. The court's ruling in favor of health authorities places the 4-month-old boy into the guardianship of authorities until after he undergoes an urgently needed heart operation and recovers. The parents' legal battle has been embraced by anti-vaccine groups, who gathered outside the courtroom this week as evidence was presented. Health authorities also said the unvaccinated donors wouldn't necessarily give them access to all the blood products they might need during the boy's surgery. Court rules prevent the baby and parents from being named.

The government soon will stop paying for the COVID drug that has proved to be the most effective at keeping patients alive and out of the hospital.

A New Zealand court has temporarily taken away medical custody of a baby from his parents after they refused blood transfusions for him unless the blood comes from donors who are unvaccinated against COVID-19

BEIJING — (AP) — In a sharp reversal, China has announced a series of measures rolling back some of its most draconian anti-COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting harsh lockdowns and ordering schools without known infections to resume regular classes. It also limited the scale of lockdown to individual apartment floors and buildings, rather than entire districts and neighborhoods. The recent protests included calls for leader Xi Jinping to step down. The policy has kept most visitors out of China and disrupted manufacturing and global trade. The government announced plans last week to vaccinate millions of people in their 70s and 80s, a condition for ending “zero-COVID” restrictions.

The announcement comes as the policies continue to batter China's economy and follows recent rare street protests over the curbs in several cities.

China has rolled back rules on isolating people with COVID-19 and dropped virus test requirements for some public places.

It’s a major capitulation for Democrats, who championed the policy despite controversy in the ranks over its implementation.

Anthony Fauci couldn't recall the studies that said hydroxychloroquine is an ineffective COVID-19 treatment or that a major medical journal retracted its study on the subject.

Households can manage or plan for the financial impact of long Covid via insurance, health, tax and estate planning.

An unusually early respiratory virus season continues to pummel the U.S., with a trifecta of RSV, flu and COVID-19 cases overwhelming hospitals. “This year’s flu season is off to a rough start,” Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, board chair of the American Medical Association, said during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press briefing on Monday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that while these new RSV stats are "encouraging," hospitals are still being swamped by other respiratory viruses. InfluenzaThough RSV cases may be leveling off, influenza hospitalizations continue to be the highest we’ve seen for this time of year in a decade. “We’ve started to see the unfortunate and expected rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations nationally after the Thanksgiving holiday,” Wolensky said.

Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE have applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine booster for children aged 6 months through 4 years. >> Read more trending newsThe bivalent vaccine targets the original strain of the COVID-19 virus, plus the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. An authorization from the FDA would mean that children would receive the primary vaccine series — two doses of the original Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine — and then one shot of the omicron-adapted bivalent vaccine. The omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine was authorized as a booster dose for ages 5 years and older in the U.S. in October. ©2022 Cox Media Group

The deadline for obtaining the Real ID needed to board a domestic flight has been pushed back again, with the Department of Homeland Security citing the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the slower-than-expected rollout. The deadline to have a Real ID had been May 3, 2023, but DHS announced Monday that it was pushed back two years, to May 7, 2025. Real ID also will be required to enter some federal facilities such as military bases. The Real ID law was passed by Congress in 2005 on a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission. DHS said in 2021 that only 43% of state-issued driver's licenses and ID cars were considered Real ID-compliant.

Authorities want to take partial custody of the child, leaving the parents in charge of non-medical care, but allowing the procedure to go ahead.

COVID-19 protests across China resulted in officials easing restrictions, leading residents to feel empowered after years of 'draconian' laws

Public Health Reports 10,089 New Positive Cases and 29 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County Since Saturday. When L.A. County considered reinstating a mask mandate in July, Ferrer said that it could include "all indoor spaces, including shared office spaces, manufacturing facilities, retail stores and at indoor events." Social media users have also sounded off in opposition to the latest warnings that a mask mandate could soon be reimposed. "If LA County plows ahead with another mask mandate, it will truly be the definition of insanity," tweeted Kevin Kiley, a Republican congressman-elect in Northern California. Came back to LA and they are suggesting a mandatory indoor mask mandate again.

A top Navy SEAL official is going against the Biden administration's military vaccine mandate by recommending that one SEAL be granted a religious exemption request.

Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to authorize its updated COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5 — not as a booster but part of their initial shots. Children ages 6 months through 4 years already are supposed to get three extra-small doses of the original Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine — each a tenth of the amount adults receive — as their primary series. The FDA has authorized the new bivalent COVID-19 shots — versions made by Pfizer and rival Moderna — as a booster for everyone ages 5 and older. Those combination shots contain half the original vaccine and half tweaked to match the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron strains that until recently were dominant. The CDC last month released the first real-world data showing that an updated booster, using either company's version, does offer added protection to adults.

Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to authorize its updated COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5.

Western countries on Monday began imposing a $60-per-barrel price cap and ban on some types of Russian oil, part of new measures aimed at stepping up pressure against Moscow over its war on Ukraine

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — (AP) — New Zealand is launching a wide-ranging inquiry into whether it made the right decisions in battling COVID-19 and how it can better prepare for future pandemics. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday the coronavirus had posed the greatest threat to the nation's health and economy since World War II. She said now was an appropriate time to examine the government's response with the highest level of independent inquiry. Among the questions will be whether or not New Zealand took the right approach initially by imposing strict lockdowns and border quarantine restrictions in order to try and wipe out the virus entirely. Ardern said it was critical to detail what worked in its response to help the country through future pandemics.

New Zealand is launching a wide-ranging inquiry into whether it made the right decisions in battling COVID-19 and how it can better prepare for future pandemics.

SAO PAULO — (AP) — Two daughters and one grandson of Brazilian soccer great Pelé said the three-time World Cup winner has been hospitalized since Tuesday to treat a respiratory infection aggravated by COVID-19. The hospital said Saturday that Pelé is responding well to treatment for the infection and his health condition had not worsened over the previous 24 hours. Fans, players and coaches taking part in the World Cup wished him well by multiple means. He will see Brazil lift the sixth title.”Pelé helped Brazil win the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups and remains the team’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches. ___AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

New research suggests that exercise is associated with higher effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and more protection from severe outcomes. Here's what we know.

China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations.

HONG KONG — (AP) — China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations. That set off angry questions online about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other anti-virus controls. Beijing and some other Chinese cities announced that riders can board buses and subways without a virus test for the first time in months. On Sunday, China announced another 35,775 cases from the past 24 hours, 31,607 of which were asymptomatic, bringing its total to 336,165 with 5,235 deaths. That set off angry questions online about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other anti-virus controls.

China has reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations

China has reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations.

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it. This past week more than 20 Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking that the administration remove the mandate, saying it has hurt the U.S. National Guard’s ability to recruit troops. Those troops are activated by governors to respond to natural disasters or unrest. Congress may consider legislation this coming week to end the mandate as a requirement to gather enough support to pass this years’ defense budget, which is already two months late. So this mandate has kept people healthy.”“I’m the guy” who ordered the military to require the vaccine, Austin added.

Comprehensive new data show just how many Americans died after vaccines became widely available — mostly in less-vaccinated states.

Former New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin was fined by the Chinese Basketball Association on Friday over comments he made regarding COVID-19 quarantine facilities, according to The Associated Press . The comments “caused adverse effects on the league and the competition area.”The league didn’t say what Lin said specifically. The video — in which Lin described the weight room as “garbage” — was later deleted. The hotel was reportedly used for short-term stays required as part of China’s and the CBA’s COVID-19 policies. Lin's fine comes amid rising tensions in China over COVID-19 outbreaks and protests with the country's "zero COVID" policy.

Last week, huge protests against the severe COVID-19 restrictions in China erupted in numerous cities, in the biggest show of opposition to the ruling Communist party in decades. The WHO has previously described China's "zero-COVID" strategy as "not sustainable, " saying that the super-infectious omicron variant made trying to stop every single case of COVID impossible. Ryan said using imported messenger RNA vaccines, like those made by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna, would be a “solid option” for China to boost its immunization coverage. China's home-grown vaccines have proven to be less effective and scientists say any protection they provided is likely to have faded with the emergence of omicron. Numerous public health officials have warned that China's zero-COVID strategy, which involves locking down entire communities if infections are found, serves little purpose given how easily the omicron variant spreads.

A top official at the World Health Organization said the U_N_ agency was “pleased” to see China loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions, saying “it’s really important that governments listen to their people when the people are in pain.”

A top official at the World Health Organization said the U_N_ agency was “pleased” to see China loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions, saying “it’s really important that governments listen to their people when the people are in pain.”.

After comparing pre-pandemic MRI scans of older teens to scans taken during COVID-19, researchers at Stanford University discovered the pandemic aged teens' brains by about three years.

A trickle of changes around China's Covid controls in the last day is raising hopes that broader relaxation is on the way.

Former President Bill Clinton announced on Wednesday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. “I’ve had mild symptoms, but I’m doing fine overall and keeping myself busy at home,” Clinton wrote. I’ve tested positive for Covid. I’ve had mild symptoms, but I’m doing fine overall and keeping myself busy at home. In his tweet, Bill Clinton urged people to get vaccinated “especially as we move into the winter months.”Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 41 Photos: Bill Clinton through the years Here are some memorable photos of former President Bill Clinton through the years.

Philadelphia and Oakland County, Michigan, are joining the small list of U.S. localities that are looking for signs of polio infections in sewage.

Long Covid is a chronic illness affecting as many as 23 million Americans. Its economic impact may rival that of the Great Recession.

Some health officials worry that lies about COVID-19 could spread more easily, while others say policy wasn't that effective.

Musk, who has himself spread COVID misinformation on Twitter, has signaled an interest in rolling back many of the platform's previous rules meant to combat misinformation. He's also reinstated the accounts for several people who spread COVID misinformation, including that of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose personal account was suspended this year for repeatedly violating Twitter's COVID rules. Despite its rules prohibiting COVID misinformation, Twitter has struggled with enforcement. Messages left with San Francisco-based Twitter seeking more information about its policy on COVID-19 misinformation were not immediately returned Tuesday. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 coordinator, said Tuesday that the problem of COVID-19 misinformation is far larger than one platform, and that policies prohibiting COVID misinformation weren't the best solution anyway.

Twitter is no longer enforcing its policy against misinformation about COVID-19.

The coronavirus has continued to mutate, and two new Omicron subvariants have now become dominant in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subvariants, called BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are descendants of BA.5, the Omicron subvariant that dominated infections in the U.S. since the summer. Can they cause more severe disease? However, she said, it does not appear they cause more severe disease than previous strains of the virus. It is too soon to know yet exactly how effective our current COVID vaccines are holding up against BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.

In a recent update to its website, Twitter said that effective Nov. 23, it is no longer enforcing its Covid-19 misleading information policy.

Chinese authorities have eased some controls after protests in several cities, but showed no sign of backing off their larger "zero-COVID" strategy.

In China, protests erupted over the weekend in several cities and Hong Kong in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. “We see the importance of moving away from massive lockdowns, being very targeted in restrictions,” Georgieva said Tuesday in Berlin. The Washington-based IMF expected the Chinese economy to grow only 3.2% this year, below the global average for the year, a rare occurrence. And yet not only we haven't solved it, but in the last years, hunger has been going up and up." The resulting high energy prices have created an opportunity to "accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy supplies" through incentives for green investments.

The head of the International Monetary Fund says it’s time for China to move away from mass lockdowns under its “zero-COVID” approach.

A far smaller group did gather at a university in Hong Kong on Tuesday to protest virus restrictions. Images viewed by The Associated Press of photos from a weekend protest showed police shoving the people into their cars. On Tuesday, about a dozen people gathered at the University of Hong Kong, chanting against virus restrictions and holding up sheets of paper with critical slogans. Most were from the mainland, which has a separate legal system from the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, and some spectators joined in their chants. Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed.

At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China set out its “zero-COVID” measures that were harsh, but not out of line with what many other countries were doing to try and contain the virus.

House Republicans are promising aggressive oversight of the Biden administration once they assume the majority next year.

Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures have called for China’s powerful leader to resign.

The omicron variant is driving U.S. COVID-19 case counts higher in many places just in time for the holiday season.

The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou has locked down its largest district as it tries to tamp down a major COVID-19 outbreak, suspending public transit and requiring residents to present a negative test if they want to leave their homes.

After previously sailing this year out of Fort Lauderdale and Europe, Royal Caribbean says its fifth ship in its Oasis class will now call Port Canaveral home for at least the next two years.

China has announced its first new death from COVID-19 in nearly half a year.

The Indian Health Service says all tribal members covered by the federal agency will be offered a vaccine at every appointment, when appropriate.

The head of Africa’s top public health institute is urging authorities across the continent to step up COVID-19 testing amid a concerning rise in new cases in some countries.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday he has COVID-19 and is leaving the Group of 20 meetings in Bali, just days after hosting President Joe Biden and other world leaders for a summit in his country’s capital.

Sri Lanka’s president has proposed to more than double the country’s tax revenue as the island nation struggles to come out from its worst economic crisis.

A new accounting of carbon dioxide emissions finds that heat-trapping gas pollution from fossil fuels went up about 1% more than last year.

Publix is modifying some of its stores’ hours in Florida ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole.

Orange County residents voting in the November election will be deciding whether or not to approve a transportation sales tax measure. Here's what it is.

Thousands of runners have taken to the streets of China’s capital for the return of the Beijing marathon after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, even as another death blamed on China’s strict pandemic controls generated more public anger.

Disney Cruise Line is eliminating its COVID-19 testing requirements for guests.

President Joe Biden’s education secretary has tested positive for COVID-19.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment helped the pharmaceutical giant balance tumbling international sales for its coronavirus vaccine and top third-quarter expectations.

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested positive again for COVID-19.

Workers in a manufacturing facility in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou appear to have left to avoid COVID-19 curbs.

As Florida enters the winter season, doctors are seeing a trio of respiratory illnesses on the rise: COVID-19, influenza and RSV.

President Joe Biden has rolled up his sleeve and gotten his updated COVID-19 booster shot.

With concerns rising about a possible winter surge of cases, a panel of experts has unanimously voted to add the COVID-19 shot to the list of recommended vaccines for children.

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax.

The Biden administration says the COVID-19 public health emergency will continue through Jan. 11 as officials brace for a spike in cases this winter.

The U.S. is about to offer updated COVID-19 booster shots to kids as young as 5.

Over the last two weeks, Florida has reported 21,586 new cases of COVID-19 and 522 virus-related deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC is doing away with notices about the COVID-19 risk of visiting specific countries.

Ringo Starr has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the former Beatle to cancel several scheduled concerts in Canada with his All Starr Band.

Ringo Starr has cancelled shows in North America after the former Beatles drummer tested positive for COVID-19.

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced the removal of its pre-cruise COVID-19 testing, vaccination and masking requirements for all guests.

Fans going to the World Cup in Qatar must show a negative COVID-19 test when they arrive as part of the host nation’s rules to combat COVID-19.

Pfizer is asking the Food and Drug Administration to expand use of its updated COVID-19 booster shot to children ages 5 to 11.

While the coronavirus pandemic was not the main focus of the U.N. General Assembly, the conversations were still happening on the sidelines.

Florida over the last two weeks has reported XX,XXX new cases of COVID-19 and XXX virus-related deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Israel has started administering doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine tailored to fight the highly infectious omicron variant.

New York City will lift its private-sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Nov. 1 but will continue to require city employees to be vaccinated against the virus.

A bus reportedly taking 47 people to COVID-19 quarantine in China has crashed, killing 27 and injuring 20 others.

The head of the World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus deaths last week was the lowest reported number in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak.

A U.S. firm that monitors false online claims reports that searches for information about prominent news topics on TikTok are likely to turn up results riddled with misinformation.