Health

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS here and appealed to all those who are eligible to get inoculated.

Sister P Niveda, from Puducherry, administered Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN to the prime minister, sources said.

NEW YORK (AP) — With the nation’s financial system on the brink of collapse, all but three Republicans voted against the massive stimulus package designed to protect millions of Americans from financial ruin.

It was early 2009, just weeks after Joe Biden was sworn in as vice president, and the vote marked the beginning of a new era of partisan gridlock in Congress. And for beleaguered Republicans coming off a disastrous election, it was their first step back to political power.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.

Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian regulators on Friday authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for all adults.

It is the third COVID-19 vaccine given the green light by Canada, following those from Pfizer and Moderna.

“This is very encouraging news. It means more people vaccinated, and sooner,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding that the nation of 38 million people will now get 6.5 million vaccines in total before the end of March, 500,000 more now with the new approval.

Ahmedabad, Feb 22 (PTI) To stem the spread of coronavirus in Gujarat, the state government on Monday decided to set up border check posts to screen people coming from neighbouring states, including Maharashtra, through roads.

The decision to conduct coronavirus test on people coming to Gujarat has been taken in view of "continuous increase in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh", said a government release.

(AP) --- The U.S. stood Sunday at the brink of a once-unthinkable tally: 500,000 people lost to the coronavirus.

A year into the pandemic, the running total of lives lost was about 498,000 — roughly the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and just shy of the size of Atlanta. The figure compiled by Johns Hopkins University surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, flu and pneumonia combined.

21 Feb 2021; MEMO: Iran on Saturday shut its border crossings with Iraq and barred travel to provinces bordering the neighbouring country over spread of the UK variant of coronavirus, Anadolu Agency reports.

(AP) --- Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting.

Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly three years and Hispanics, nearly two years, according to preliminary estimates Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

17 Feb 2021; MEMO: The besieged Gaza Strip is due to receive its first batch of coronavirus vaccines today after Israel approved the delivery.

Gaza will receive 1,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V inoculation from the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the occupied West Bank via Israel.

Wellington, Feb 17 (AP-PTI) A lockdown in the New Zealand city of Auckland will end at midnight, the government announced Wednesday after concluding a coronavirus outbreak had been contained.

This is good news, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.