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Coronavirus

Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90%

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer Inc. said Friday that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joined the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus. Currently most COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection. Competitor Merck’s COVID-19 pill is already under review at the Food and Drug Administration after showing strong initial results, and on Thursday the United Kingdom became the first country to OK it. Pfizer said it will ask the FDA and international regulators to ...

Roll up your sleeves: Kids’ turn arrives for COVID-19 shots

Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. School children who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic. Health officials hailed shots for kids aged 5 to 11 as a ...

U.S. panel urges kids 5-11 get COVID shots, final OK due soon

An influential advisory panel on Tuesday recommended kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for all children ages 5 to 11, putting the U.S. on the brink of a major expansion of vaccinations. A final decision was expected within hours. The Food and Drug Administration already authorized the shots for the younger age group — doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommends who should receive FDA-cleared vaccines — and its advisers unanimously decided Pfizer’s shots should be opened to 28 million ...

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returns to pre-pandemic shape

NEW YORK (AP) — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to its pre-pandemic form this year, with its route restored through Manhattan, high-flying helium balloons once again pulled by handlers and crowds welcomed back to cheer them on. This year’s parade — the 95th annual — ...

Leaders dial up doomsday warning to launch climate talks

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — World leaders turned up the heat and resorted to end-of-the-world rhetoric Monday in an attempt to bring new urgency to sputtering international climate negotiations. The metaphors were dramatic and mixed at the start of the talks, known as COP26. British Prime ...

COVID-19’s global death toll tops 5 million in under 2 years

The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 5 million on Monday, less than two years into a crisis that has not only devastated poor countries but also humbled wealthy ones with first-rate health care systems. Together, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Brazil — all ...