Health

UK speeds up vaccinations: All adults get 1st jab by July 31

By Jill Lawless, Associated Press

The British government declared Sunday that every adult in the country should get a first coronavirus vaccine shot by July 31, at least a month earlier than its previous target, as it prepared to set out a “cautious” plan to…

Pope, others hail Italian health workers on COVID anniversary

By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press

Pope Francis and Italy’s president on Saturday marked a newly established annual day to honor doctors, nurses and other health care workers, exactly one year after the nation’s first known native case of COVID-19 emerged.

WATCH: Biden defends progress on COVID-19 as weather delays 6 million shots

By Zeke Miller, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press

While acknowledging the weather is "slowing up the distribution," Biden said at the Pfizer plant in Michigan that he believes "we'll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year."…

U.K. COVID-19 infections falling as govt mulls easing lockdown

By Pan Pylas, Associated Press

Clear evidence has emerged that the rate of coronavirus infections across the U.K. is falling sharply just days before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlines a roadmap for potentially easing lockdown restrictions in England.

Some power restored in Texas but water woes persist

By Paul J. Weber, Jill Bleed, Associated Press

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says 7 million people have been ordered to boil their water before consuming it. The extreme weather was blamed for the deaths of over three dozen people, some while trying to keep warm.

How to help Texas during winter storm blackouts

By Chloe Jones

An unprecedented winter storm and unprepared electrical grid has left millions of Texans without reliable power and water and has killed at least 20 people since Monday.

Experts warn against COVID-19 variants as states reopen

By Marion Renault, Associated Press

Scientists widely agree that the U.S. simply doesn’t have enough of a handle on the variants to roll back public health measures and is at risk of fumbling yet another phase of the pandemic.

U.S. jobless claims jump to 861,000 as layoffs stay high

By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press

The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week to 861,000, evidence that layoffs remain painfully high despite a steady drop in the number of confirmed viral infections.

COVID-19 has already cut U.S. life expectancy by a year. For Black Americans, it’s worse

By Laura Santhanam

Communities of color have suffered disproportionately throughout the pandemic, and these latest federal data further illustrate the magnitude of those disparities.

WATCH: U.S. federal agents seize over 10 million fake N95 masks

By Associated Press

Officials say the most recent seizures occurred Wednesday when Homeland Security agents intercepted hundreds of thousands of counterfeit 3M masks in an East Coast warehouse that were set to be distributed.