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COVID-19

FDA strikes cautious tone ahead of vaccine booster meeting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Influential government advisers will debate Friday if there’s enough proof that a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective — the first step toward deciding which Americans need one and when. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday posted much of the evidence its advisory panel will consider. The agency struck a decidedly neutral tone on the rationale for boosters — an unusual and careful approach that’s all the more striking after President Joe Biden and his top health advisers trumpeted a booster campaign they hoped to begin ...

ICUs are filled with COVID-19 — and regret

It’s a struggle for Joe Gammon to talk. Lying in his bed in the intensive care unit at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, this month, he described himself as “naive.” “If I would have known six months ago that this could be possible, this would have been a no-brainer,” said the 45-year-old father of six, who has been in critical condition with covid-19 for weeks. He paused to use a suction tube to dislodge some phlegm from his throat. “But I honestly didn’t think I was at any risk.” Tennessee hospitals are setting new records each day, caring ...

PA releases data on ‘breakthrough’ COVID-19 cases

Pennsylvania residents who are unvaccinated against the coronavirus were far more likely to contract COVID-19, become hospitalized and die than those who got the shot, health officials said Tuesday in the first public release of data on so-called “breakthrough” infections in the state. More than 35,000 people who were fully vaccinated have tested positive for the virus since January, representing only 6% of all cases statewide, according to the data released Tuesday. More than 1,800 vaccinated people were hospitalized and 213 died — both representing a tiny fraction of all ...

Third shot: UK to offer COVID booster jabs to over 50s

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. announced Tuesday it will offer a third dose of coronavirus vaccine to everyone over 50 and other vulnerable people to help the country ride out the pandemic through the winter months. The booster shots, which will be rolled out beginning next week, were approved a day after the Conservative government also backed plans to offer one vaccine dose to children 12 to 15 years old. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, which advises the government, recommended that booster shots be offered to everyone over 50, health care workers, people with ...

Census: Relief programs staved off hardship in COVID crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Massive government relief passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic moved millions of Americans out of poverty last year, even as the official poverty rate increased slightly, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. The official poverty measure rose 1 percentage point in 2020, with 11.4% of Americans living in poverty, or more than 37 million people. It was the first increase in poverty after five consecutive annual declines. But the Census Bureau’s supplemental measure of poverty, which takes into account government benefit programs and stimulus payments, showed ...

Clinton adds nine cases of COVID; Centre up 20

Clinton County added nine new cases of COVID-19, Centre County added 20 and Lycoming County added 59 cases of the deadly virus on Monday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Clinton now has 4,030 cases, Centre has 18,410 and Lycoming has 13,245. Pennsylvania added 3,150 positives to increase the statewide total to 1,350,719. Throughout the state, there were two new deaths reported by the DOH. A total of 28,568 Pennsylvanians have died as a result of COVID-19. There were no new deaths reported in Clinton, Centre and Lycoming counties on Monday. The death totals look ...