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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

In this Wednesday, March 24, 2021, image from video provided by Duke Health, Alejandra Gerardo, 9, looks up to her mom, Dr. Susanna Naggie, as she gets the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations during a clinical trial for children at Duke Health in Durham, N.C. In the U.S. and abroad, researchers are beginning to test younger and younger kids, to make sure the shots are safe and work for each age. (Shawn Rocco/Duke Health via AP)

CDC, states say coronavirus infections hitting younger groups

Most U.S. seniors are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the virus is infecting younger people, setting off a race to immunize the bulk of Americans in the face of aggressive variants and a feared "fourth wave" of infection.

April 5, 2021
In this March 26, 2021, file photo a member of the Philadelphia Fire Department prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site setup in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

J&J, Emergent stocks slide amid COVID-19 vaccine mix-up

Stocks for Johnson & Johnson and Emergent BioSolutions fell in early trading Thursday amid reports that about 15 million doses of J&J's COVID-19 vaccine failed quality checks after an ingredients mix-up.

April 1, 2021
In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, photo, some of the nearly 900 large poster-sized photos of Detroit victims of COVID-19 are displayed on Belle Isle in Detroit. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed total U.S. deaths last year beyond 3.3 million, the nation’s highest-ever annual death toll, the government reported Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) **FILE**

U.S. death rate spiked 16% in 2020: CDC

The U.S. death rate increased by 16% in 2020 -- a spike driven by the coronavirus, which was the third-leading cause of death, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

March 31, 2021
In this Dec. 22, 2020, photo, provided by Richard Chung, his son Caleb Chung receives the first dose of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine or placebo as a trial participant for kids ages 12-15, at Duke University Health System in Durham, N.C.  Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12. The announcement Wednesday, March 31, 2021 marks a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before the next school year. (Richard Chung via AP)

Pfizer: COVID-19 vaccine 100% effective in ages 12-15

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was 100% effective in teens ages 12 to 15, the company said Wednesday, providing hope there will be an option for people under age 16 before the next school year.

March 31, 2021
A man wearing a protective outfit stands in an area where people who have just been injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine have to wait for 15 minutes to make sure they don't develop immediate side effects at a vaccination center in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. AstraZeneca's repeated missteps in reporting vaccine data coupled with a blood clot scare could do lasting damage to the credibility of a shot that is the linchpin in the global strategy to stop the coronavirus pandemic, potentially even undermining vaccine confidence more broadly, experts say.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Fauci expects ‘modified statement’ from AstraZeneca amid vaccine data dust-up

American regulators will scrutinize every bit of trial data from AstraZeneca before approving its COVID-19 vaccine, the White House said Wednesday, hoping to stem the fallout from a series of public relations blunders around a promising vaccine that would bolster U.S. supply and give poor nations a much-needed weapon against the virus.

March 24, 2021
President Barack Obama walks with Vice President Joe Biden back to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 25, 2015, after speaking in the Rose Garden. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Biden extends ‘special’ Obamacare signup period to August

President Biden reprised his role as Obamacare salesman Tuesday in a bid to reach people who've been left in the cold by the durable-yet-faulty law, extending a special enrollment period by three months and betting enhanced subsidies will make a dent in the roughly 30 million who remain uninsured.

March 23, 2021