Tom Howell Jr.

Joe Biden extends travel restrictions as fears of coronavirus variants mount

Reported coronavirus cases have dropped in recent weeks, but the U.S. government fears fast-moving variants will spark new trouble, prompting President Biden to extend travel restrictions while a drugmaker tests a new version of its vaccine against a potent strain detected in South Africa.

January 25, 2021

Biden formally extends COVID-19 travel restrictions on Europe, U.K., Brazil

President Biden on Monday formally extended travel restrictions on non-U.S. passengers from much of Europe, the U.K., Ireland and Brazil, reversing former President Trump's move to relax the restrictions.

January 25, 2021

Merck gives up COVID-19 vaccine chase, cites poor immune response

Drugmaker Merck said Monday it is giving up on the COVID-19 vaccines it was developing and will focus on treatments for the disease.

January 25, 2021

Moderna tests revamped COVID-19 vaccine to target South Africa strain

Drugmaker Moderna said Monday its vaccine protects against emerging strains of the coronavirus but is less effective against the South African mutation than the U.K. variant, so it is exploring a revamped booster shot.

January 25, 2021

Joe Biden faces pressure to aim higher in COVID-19 vaccine goals

The U.S. is administering roughly 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per day, placing President Biden on track to meet his 100-day goal of 100 million shots while heaping pressure on his White House to speed the effort, as virus deaths rise and newly eligible Americans clamor to roll up their sleeves.

January 22, 2021

Boris Johnson: U.K. variant of coronavirus likely more deadly

The fast-spreading "U.K. variant" of the coronavirus might also be more deadly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday, an alarming development that will burden the British health system and reverberate around the world.

January 22, 2021

Joe Biden coronavirus team tempers vaccine expectations as governors start canceling appointments

President Biden's blueprint for tackling COVID-19 signals a departure from President Trump's vaccine-or-bust strategy, doubling down on masks, testing and other measures to stop the coronavirus while scrambling to get more shots into arms.

January 21, 2021

Anthony Fauci: COVID-19 cases dropping, but mutations make him wary

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday he thinks a recent slowdown in coronavirus cases is "real" but he's worried about a relapse as mutated versions spread.

January 21, 2021

Joe Biden predicts 500K coronavirus deaths, but ‘help is on the way’

President Biden said Thursday it will "take months" to defeat the coronavirus and the death toll will likely exceed half a million, though he's confident he can speed the vaccine rollout through wartime production powers, FEMA-supported centers and pharmacy programs.

January 21, 2021

Anthony Fauci: U.S. is ‘ready to work’ with WHO; Biden rolls out COVID-19 plan

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday the U.S. will stop withdrawing staff from the World Health Organization and meet its financial obligations to the U.N. body as a full international partner in the response to COVID-19.

January 21, 2021

Jen Psaki: Joe Biden entered Oval Office with ‘incredible sense of calm’

President Biden had an "incredible sense of calm" as he entered the Oval Office for the first time as president, his spokeswoman said Wednesday.

January 20, 2021

Jen Psaki: Justin Trudeau to be Joe Biden first foreign call

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be the first foreign leader to receive a call from President Biden, his spokeswoman said.

January 20, 2021

New CDC chief orders review of COVID-19 guidelines

Rochelle Walensky, the incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said "better, healthier days are ahead" but testing and vaccinating for COVID-19 must accelerate rapidly to get there.

January 20, 2021

Joe Biden will reverse WHO withdrawal, restore health team on security council

President Biden will recommit the U.S. to the World Health Organization, take a bigger federal role in the vaccine rollout, and mandate masks where he can as he assumes responsibility for the pandemic response instead of carping about now-former President Donald Trump from the sidelines.

January 20, 2021

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris memorialize 400,000 Americans who died of coronavirus in ceremony

President-elect Joseph R. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris memorialized the nearly 400,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus in a ceremony on Tuesday, saying the nation must remember the family members and friends lost to the disease.

January 19, 2021

Trump issues presidential commendations to his vaccine team

President Trump awarded presidential commendations to about 50 members of his vaccine team on Tuesday, including doctors Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx and key members of the military.

January 19, 2021

U.S. COVID-19 death toll surpasses 400,000

President-elect Joseph R. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris recognized the nearly 400,000 Americans who've died from the coronavirus in a memorial from Washington on Tuesday, saying the nation cannot heal from its ordeal unless it remembers the grandparents, siblings and friends it lost to the dreaded disease.

January 19, 2021

HHS Secretary Alex Azar to Trump: Capitol raid will ‘tarnish’ our health legacy

Health Secretary Alex Azar submitted a resignation letter to President Trump, effective Jan. 20, that says the Capitol raid and events leading to it "threaten to tarnish" what they accomplished together in developing vaccines, disclosing health care prices and keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of children.

January 16, 2021

Biden on vaccine: Emphasize over age 65, front-line workers

President-elect Joseph R. Biden released a vaccination plan Friday that says people 65 and older and front-line workers such as grocery-store employees should be given priority for protection against the coronavirus.

January 15, 2021

Joe Biden taps Andy Slavitt, Obamacare fix-it man, for COVID-19 response

The man who played a key role in saving HealthCare.gov from ruin will help President-elect Joseph R. Biden in his quest to wrangle the coronavirus and rebuild the U.S. economy.

January 15, 2021