coronavirus pandemic

Despite persistent claims to the contrary, none of the three authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines contains fetal tissue. In an early phase of development, two of the coronavirus shots — the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — were tested in cell lines that were long ago made from an aborted fetus. And the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is manufactured…

Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s vaccine division, said manufacturers should update their shots to target omicron BA.4 and BA.5.

An update to the COVID vaccines is needed to fight Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that are increasing case counts now, says Dr. Uché Blackstock, an MSNBC medical contributor and head of Advancing Health Equity.

U.S. health officials said Wednesday they have agreed to purchase another 105 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in anticipation of a fall booster campaign. The $3.2 billion deal announced by the Biden administration comes as federal scientists consider how to update the vaccines to better protect Americans from the rapidly evolving virus. Federal officials said the purchase agreement includes…

Updating the shots to target omicron could provide more durable protection against the virus, though current supporting data is limited.

Nursing homes across the country are in trouble. Many are facing closures due to staff shortages and higher operating costs from inflation and the pandemic.

Nursing homes across the country are in trouble, facing closers due to staff shortages and higher operating costs from inflation and the pandemic.

During a House select committee meeting Thursday, former White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx testified that radiologist and political commentator Dr. Scott Atlas pushed former President Trump to enact ‘dangerous’ pandemic policies.

Dr. Deborah Birx, former coronavirus response coordinator for the Trump Administration, testified Thursday before a congressional committee about early missteps in the pandemic. “Creating the sense among the American people that [COVID-19] would… have the fatalities equivalent to flu created a sense among the American people that this was not going to be a serious pandemic.”

Members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force during the Trump administration expressed concerns with each other about “misinformation” being shared with the president, according to emails obtained by a congressional subcommittee and shared with NBC News.

President Joe Biden is celebrating that virtually all Americans can now get a COVID-19 shot after the authorization of vaccines for kids under 5 over the weekend. Biden on Tuesday visited a vaccination clinic in Washington, where some of the first shots were given to what had been the last major age group ineligible for vaccines. Biden is hailing it...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 81-year-old Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, was experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institutes of Health. Fauci has not recently been in close contact with President Joe Biden...

Parents anxious to finally vaccinate their youngest children against COVID-19, strap in: A lot is set to happen over the next week.

Can’t find your go-to tampons? You might have to go with the flow and look for an alternative amid potential product shortages.

China has attacked the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated as a leak from a Chinese laboratory as a politically motivated lie. The response came after the World Health Organization recommended in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is needed into whether a lab accident may be to blame. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson also rejected accusations...

Novavax’s shot would be the fourth Covid vaccine authorized for use in the U.S. The shots use different technology than Pfizer and Moderna.

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Thursday that coronavirus vaccinations could be approved and available for children under five by June 21.

The Biden administration said Thursday that children under 5 may be able to get their first COVID-19 vaccination doses as soon as June 21, if federal regulators authorize shots for the age group, as expected. White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning for the last remaining ineligible age group to get shots. He said the Food and…

While his body fought both at once, the actor — who was “double vaccinated” — said he felt like he was “dancing” with his “mortality.”

The White House has announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects COVID-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island. The site will provide patients with immediate access to the drug once they test positive....