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COVID-19

New Zealand to start reopening borders to world from January

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand will reopen its borders to the world over the coming months, the government announced Wednesday, allowing for the return of displaced residents from January and tourists from April. The South Pacific nation imposed harsh border restrictions when the pandemic began, effectively banning tourists and requiring returning residents to spend two weeks in a quarantine hotel run by the military. At times, demand for quarantine beds has far outstripped supply, causing some displaced residents to wait months for available slots. For the first 18 ...

White House: No apparent disruption from vaccine mandate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel. Of Tuesday, one day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers covered by Biden’s mandate reported to the government that they are at least partially vaccinated, according to White House officials. In total, 96.5% of employees have been deemed in compliance with the policy, including through medical or religious exemptions that are still being ...

Vaccines making Thanksgiving easier, but hot spots remain

The U.S. is facing its second Thanksgiving of the pandemic in better shape than the first time around, thanks to the vaccine, though some regions are seeing surges of COVID-19 cases that could get worse as families travel the country for gatherings that were impossible a year ago. Nearly 200 ...

WHO Europe warns of possible surge in COVID deaths ahead

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization’s Europe office says projections show its 53-country region could face another 700,000 deaths in the coronavirus pandemic by next spring, topping 2 million in total. WHO Europe, which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, also cited growing evidence of a decline in protection against infection and mild disease through vaccines, and said a “booster dose” should be given as a priority to the most vulnerable populations — including people with weakened immune systems — as well as people over age 60 and health care workers. The U.N. ...

German soldiers face vaccine mandate as COVID cases rise

BERLIN (AP) — The German military is making coronavirus shots compulsory for troops amid a growing debate in the country about whether to introduce a general vaccine mandate to counter rising infection and hospitalization rates. The Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed a report in the German military blog Augen Geradeaus that officials and soldiers’ representatives agreed late Monday to add the coronavirus shot to the list of vaccines soldiers must get. The measure still needs to be formally added to military regulations, the ministry said in a statement. There were 1,215 ...

GOP embraces natural immunity as substitute for vaccines

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republicans fighting President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandates are wielding a new weapon against the White House rules: natural immunity. They contend that people who have recovered from the virus have enough immunity and antibodies to not need COVID-19 vaccines, and the concept has been invoked by Republicans as a sort of stand-in for vaccines. Florida wrote natural immunity into state law this week as GOP lawmakers elsewhere are pushing similar measures to sidestep vaccine mandates. Lawsuits over the mandates have also begun leaning on the ...