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COVID-19

UK government accused of hypocrisy as health minister quits

LONDON — Britain’s health secretary has resigned after a tabloid splashed photos and videos of him kissing an aide in his office — breaking the same coronavirus social distancing rules he imposed on the nation. While Matt Hancock was swiftly replaced, the scandal was another blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative government, which has repeatedly come under criticism for incompetence and hypocrisy in its handling of the pandemic over the past year. “People have made huge sacrifices to beat the pandemic and what riles them is the whiff of hypocrisy that ...

As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’

WASHINGTON — Thrown off-stride to reach its COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot. The strategy has the trappings of a political campaign, complete with data crunching to identify groups that can be won over. But the message is about public health, not ideology. The focus is a group health officials term the “movable middle” — some 55 million unvaccinated adults seen as persuadable, many of them under ...

Is Japan’s remarkable vaccine drive in time for Olympics?

TOKYO — After months of frustration and delay, Japan has hit the remarkable benchmark of 1 million vaccines a day. But with the Olympics set to start in less than a month, and only a small portion of the country vaccinated, a question lingers: Is it enough? The vaccination pace is ...

Falling short: Why the White House will miss its vax target

WASHINGTON — Standing in the State Dining Room on May 4, President Joe Biden laid out a lofty goal to vaccinate 70% of American adults by Independence Day, saying the U.S. would need to overcome “doubters” and laziness to do it. “This is your choice,” he told Americans. “It’s life and death.” As for the ambition of his 70% goal, Biden added: “I’d like to get it at 100%, but I think realistically we can get to that place between now and July Fourth.” He won’t. With the July Fourth holiday approaching, the White House acknowledged this week that Biden will ...

Face mask mandate ends Monday in PA

Pennsylvania’s requirement for people who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear face masks in public will end as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday. However, long-term care facilities, hospitals and health care facilities and some businesses will still require masks. Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Alison Beam on Friday reminded residents to abide by mask-wearing requirements of specific establishments, even if they are fully vaccinated. A universal mask-wearing order has been in place in Pennsylvania since April 15, 2020, with updates coming on Nov. 18 and March 17. Gov. ...

Geisinger continues walk-in COVID-19 vaccines

DANVILLE — Geisinger continues to offer walk-in and by-appointment COVID-19 vaccine events this week at its four vaccine centers. Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available: —Wednesday, June 23, at the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital Vaccine Center, 400 Highland Ave. Ext., Lewistown, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. — Thursday, June 24, at the Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital Vaccine Center, 1020 Thompson St., Jersey Shore, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. —Friday, June 25, at the Geisinger CenterPoint Vaccine Center, 300 Keystone Ave., Pittston, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. —Saturday, ...