The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Saturday that children as young as six months old receive Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The move follows a unanimous vote earlier in the day by an advisory panel of outside experts known as Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or …
Read More »FDA Advisers Recommend Pfizer, Moderna COVID Vaccines For Kids Under 5
Parents of children under 5 are one step closer to vaccinating their young kids against COVID-19 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s outside vaccine panel recommended emergency use authorizations of two COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday. The 21-person Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend the FDA …
Read More »Agriculture Secretary Lays Out Biden Administration Vision For ‘transformed food system’
by Jared Strong, Missouri Independent The Biden administration has set aside billions of dollars to help the nation’s food supply chain recover from the coronavirus pandemic — and, more recently, the looming global effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and on Wednesday, it announced new funding and a comprehensive …
Read More »COVID Vaccine For Kids Under 5 Could Be Available As Soon As June 21
The Biden administration is preparing to ship out to the states millions of COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5 in the coming weeks. White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said Thursday that if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for young …
Read More »Biden Backs Moving Quickly On Ukraine Relief Without Including U.S. COVID Aid
by Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 9, 2022 WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signaled Monday he can accept Congress postponing action on billions in COVID-19 funding his administration says is desperately needed in the interests of swiftly moving ahead on a multibillion-dollar Ukraine aid package backed by both parties. …
Read More »Nearly 15 Million ‘Excess Deaths’ Associated With COVID-19 In 2020 And 2021
New estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the full death toll associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic (described as “excess mortality”) between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million). “These sobering data not only point …
Read More »Vice President Kamala Harris Tests Postive For COVID-19
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday on both rapid and PCR tests, according to a statement from her press secretary. She “has exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the Vice President’s residence,” according to the statement. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden …
Read More »Lawmakers Look For Path Ahead On Billions In Restaurant, Small Business Aid
by Jennifer Shutt, Virginia Mercury April 12, 2022 WASHINGTON — Restaurants and other businesses that have survived more than two years of COVID-19 restrictions could see an infusion of federal dollars in the coming months, as long as U.S. lawmakers reach final agreement on a multibillion-dollar package. The U.S. House …
Read More »FDA Authorizes First COVID-19 Breath Test
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization to a new COVID-19 test that can detect infections with only a sample of a patient’s breath, using a device that can yield results in less than three minutes. The agency says the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer will only be available for …
Read More »CDC Extends Federal Transportation Mask Mandate Another Two Weeks
The Biden Administration announced it has extended the federal transportation mask mandate another two weeks due to rising COVID-19 case numbers across the country. The mask mandate, which requires face coverings on public transportation, including planes and trains and in airports, was initially put in place in January 2021 and set …
Read More »COVID Funding Delayed After Senate GOP Insist On Immigration Debate
by Jennifer Shutt, Missouri Independent April 8, 2022 WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have departed their offices and hearing rooms on Capitol Hill for a two-week spring recess without passing additional funding to combat the coronavirus, amid a stalemate over immigration policy. Despite reaching a bipartisan agreement Monday for $10 billion for …
Read More »House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tests Positive For COVID-19
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, the latest in a number of cases among the nation’s top officials in recent days. Pelosi, who is 82, has no symptoms and is fully vaccinated as well as boosted, her spokesperson Drew Hammill said in a tweet. “After testing negative …
Read More »Senate Strikes Bipartisan Agreement On $10 Billion In COVID-19 Funding
by Jennifer Shutt, Missouri Independent April 4, 2022 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate reached a bipartisan deal on pandemic aid funding Monday, settling on $10 billion for added testing, treatment and vaccines. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney released separate statements …
Read More »5 Questions About COVID-19 Funding That’s Stuck In Congress
by Jennifer Shutt, Missouri Independent April 1, 2022 WASHINGTON — Congress remains undecided over how exactly to provide billions more to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as a new variant spreads throughout states and public health officials caution the virus doesn’t show signs of fading away. Negotiators were close to an …
Read More »White House Launches ‘one-stop shop’ Website For COVID-19 Information
President Joe Biden on Wednesday introduced his administration’s new website, COVID.gov, designed to be a “one-stop shop” for the latest pandemic information, as well as a means of providing access to vaccines, tests, treatments and masks on a single site. Biden unveiled the site while asking Congress to approve an …
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