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COVID-19

Centre Govt won’t require employees to get vaccines

BELLEFONTE — Although some businesses in Pennsylvania have begun to ask their employees to get vaccinated, Centre County Government has no plans for such a requirement, Centre County commissioner Michael Pipe said on Tuesday. With cases of COVID-19 skyrocketing in Centre County, the question was asked during the commissioners’ weekly meeting. “We’ve been doing a lot of research in terms of our current policies. Ever since vaccines have become available, we have advertised to our employees the availability of them,” Pipe said. “It’s a very changing area, but at this ...

From CVS to Chevron, FDA decision triggers vaccine mandates

From Walt Disney World and Chevron to CVS and a Michigan university, a flurry of private and public employers are requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after the federal government gave full approval to the Pfizer shot. And the number is certain to grow much higher. For the past eight months, coronavirus shots were dispensed in the U.S. under emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Some workers and unions objected to getting the vaccine — and some employers were reluctant to require it — because it had yet to receive FDA full approval. That ...

Woman who coughed on market produce, claimed virus gets jail

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman who pleaded guilty to coughing and spitting on food at a supermarket in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic was sentenced Tuesday to at least a year in jail. Margaret Ann Cirko, 37, pleaded guilty in June to a felony count of making bomb threats. Authorities said Cirko entered a Gerrity’s Supermarket location in Hanover Township, near Wilkes-Barre, on March 25, 2020, and purposely coughed on fresh produce and other merchandise while yelling that she had the virus and that everyone would get sick. Joe Fasula, co-owner of the ...

Florida mask debate split-screen: courtroom vs. classrooms

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The coronavirus is disrupting more classrooms in Florida while lawyers for Gov. Ron DeSantis argue against school mask mandates in a Tallahassee courtroom. Three more school districts announced hearings Tuesday to discuss stricter mask policies to avoid more ...

US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday, potentially boosting public confidence in the shots and instantly opening the way for more universities, companies and local governments to make vaccinations mandatory. The Pentagon promptly announced it will press ahead with plans to require members of the military to get vaccinated amid the battle against the extra-contagious delta variant. Louisiana State University likewise said it will demand its students get the shot. More than 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the U.S. under ...

School mask, vaccine mandates supported in US: AP-NORC poll

BOSTON (AP) — As COVID-19 cases surge around the country, a majority of Americans say they support mask mandates for students and teachers in K-12 schools, according to a new poll, but their views are sharply divided along political lines. About 6 in 10 Americans say students and teachers ...