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U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than age 5. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision aims to better protect the littlest kids amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases around the country — at a time when children’s hospitals already are packed with tots suffering from other respiratory […]

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Building on the experience of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, African countries are strengthening health systems to prepare for the next health crisis, the World Health Organization’s Africa director said Thursday. At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, some of the 54 countries in the continent of 1.3 billion people […]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday announced it has expanded the emergency use authorization for the bivalent COVID-19 booster to include children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. With this announcement, children older than 6 months who have received the primary two-dose coronavirus vaccines from Moderna are now eligible to […]

The coronavirus pandemic interrupted efforts to control malaria, resulting in 63,000 additional deaths and 13 million more infections globally over two years, according to a report from the World Health Organization published Thursday. Cases of the parasitic disease went up in 2020 and continued to climb in 2021, though at a slower pace, the U.N. […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — People across China reacted with relief and caution Thursday to the dramatic government decision to loosen some of the world’s most severe COVID-19 restrictions. For the first time in months, Jenny Jian hit the gym in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou without being required to scan the “health code” on her […]

BEIJING (AP) — China began implementing a more relaxed version of its strict “zero COVID” policy on Thursday amid steps to restore normal life, but also trepidation over a possible broader outbreak once controls are eased. The country reported 21,165 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, though it was unclear whether the lower number reflected fewer […]

BEIJING (AP) — In a move that caught many by surprise, China announced a potentially major easing of its rigid “zero-COVID” restrictions, without formally abandoning the policy altogether. It’s not clear what exactly prompted the move, although it follows the largest show of public dissent against the ruling Communist Party in more than 30 years […]

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mostly lower in Asia after Wall Street sagged under weakness in tech stocks. U.S. futures edged lower while oil prices rebounded. Japan revised upward its GDP data to show the economy contracted less than earlier reported in July-September, in a sign the country weathered its latest big COVID wave with […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Concerns of an after-Thanksgiving surge of a “tripledemic” have become a new reality as hospitals in the Mid-South and across the country are seeing a rising number of flu, RSV and COVID-19 cases. Inside many Memphis area hospitals, the so-called triple threat virus is leading to crowded emergency rooms and doctor’s offices. […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress’ move to eliminate the Pentagon mandate that all U.S. service members get the COVID-19 vaccine delivers a victory for lawmakers and troops who oppose getting the shot, but it raises questions and potential risks, especially for forces deploying overseas. A compromise provision requiring Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to rescind the requirement […]

The White House on Wednesday called it a “mistake” to repeal the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military service members through the annual defense policy bill, but officials stopped short of saying President Biden would veto the legislation. “What we think happened here is Republicans in Congress have decided that they’d rather fight against the health […]