LOS ANGELES — Vaccinations against COVID-19 began Monday in California amid a huge surge in infections and hospitalizations. Intensive care unit nurse Helen Cordova received a shot of the Pfizer vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who watched and applauded, tweeted that Cordova was one...
‘Relieved’: US Health Workers Start Getting COVID-19 Vaccine
The biggest vaccination campaign in U.S. history kicked off Monday as health workers rolled up their sleeves for shots to protect them from COVID-19 and start beating back the pandemic — a day of optimism even as the nation's death toll closed in on 300,000. “I feel hopeful today. Relieved,”...
Hospitals Prepare to Get First Vaccine Doses. Here’s California’s Plan.
SACRAMENTO — As California reported a record of nearly 35,500 positive coronavirus cases on Friday, there's a glimmer of hope: The state is awaiting the first batch of coronavirus vaccine and plans to distribute it to hospitals to inoculate healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic. The state...
White House Demands FDA Approve COVID Vaccine. Threatens FDA Chief’s Job.
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday pressed Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn to grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day or face possible firing, two administration officials said. The vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and...
Panel Endorses Widespread Use of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine in US
A government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs...
One-Day Deaths Top 3,000 in US, More Than 9/11 or D-Day
MISSION, Kan. — Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than...
US Experts Convene to Decide Whether to OK Pfizer Vaccine
WASHINGTON — A U.S. government advisory panel convened on Thursday to decide whether to endorse mass use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to help conquer the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. The meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration represented the next-to-last hurdle before the...
Only Half in US Want COVID Shots as Vaccine Nears, Poll Shows
WASHINGTON — As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a...
UK Probing if Allergic Reactions Linked to Pfizer Vaccine
LONDON — British regulators warned Wednesday that people who have a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. The U.K.’s Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is looking...
‘Route Out’ of Pandemic: UK Gives 1st COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
LONDON — A retired British shop clerk received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program Tuesday, the start of an unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million. Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, got the shot...