Naval officer wins praise for Portugal’s vaccine rollout

OEIRAS, Portugal (AP) — As Portugal closes in on its goal of fully vaccinating 85% of the population against COVID-19 in nine months, other countries in Europe and beyond want to know how it was accomplished. A lot of the credit is going to Rear Adm. Henrique Gouveia e...

Is the delta variant of the coronavirus worse for kids?

Is the delta variant of the coronavirus worse for kids? No, experts say there's no strong evidence yet that it makes children and teens sicker than earlier versions of the virus, although delta has led to a surge in infections among kids because it's more contagious. ...

Mayim Bialik's 'Jeopardy!' goal: maintaining its integrity

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mayim Bialik knew she’d be busy around this time of year, but not this busy. Besides starting production on a new season of Fox's sitcom “Call Me Kat,” Bialik was recalled to duty as a “Jeopardy!” guest host — the result of the quiz show's...

Vaccine inequity comes into stark focus during UN gathering

The inequity of COVID-19 vaccine distribution will come into sharper focus Thursday as many of the African countries whose populations have little to no access to the life-saving shots step to the podium to speak at the U.N.'s annual meeting of world leaders. Already,...

The Latest: New Zealand's PM hopes to avoid future lockdowns

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she doesn’t want to use lockdowns in the future and sees vaccinations as the “golden ticket” to navigating the pandemic. Her remarks came as Auckland remained in a sixth week of lockdown...

FDA backs Pfizer COVID-19 boosters for seniors, high-risk

The U.S. moved a step closer Wednesday to offering booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to senior citizens and others at high risk from the virus as the Food and Drug Administration signed off on the targeted use of extra shots. The FDA authorized booster doses...

Lawmakers OK $55B budget bills; $7.5B in virus relief left

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers who finished passing the state budget Wednesday will next turn to allocating an unprecedented amount of federal COVID-19 rescue funding — money that largely is flexible and can be spent however the state decides. For months,...

Navajo Nation reports 52 more COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Wednesday reported 52 more COVID-19 cases and five additional deaths. The latest numbers pushed the tribe’s totals to 33,637 confirmed COVID-19 cases from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known...

Michigan passes 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has recorded more than 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the health department said Wednesday. The state crossed that threshold by reporting 6,079 new cases over the last two days. There have been at...

US booster campaign gets closer as FDA OKs extra shots of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for seniors, others at high risk