North America

Harris vaccinated on camera, urges public to trust process

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received her Covid vaccine live on television Tuesday and urged public trust in the process, while her choice of hospital highlighted the plight of the hard-hit African-American community. A mask-wearing Harris received the first of her two shots at United Medical Center, located in an area of Washington, DC with a large African-American population. African-American communities nationwide have seen disproportionately high levels of death and […]

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Phase 3 trials begin for Novavax vaccine in US, Mexico

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate from American biotech company Novavax have begun in the United States and Mexico, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Monday. A similar Phase 3 trial for the same vaccine, called NVX-CoV2373, is also under way in the United Kingdom, where about 15,000 volunteers have been recruited. In the US and Mexico, the new trials will […]

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US surpasses 19 million Covid-19 cases: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States surpassed 19 million coronavirus cases Sunday, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed, adding one million new cases in less than a week. The US recorded 165,151 new cases in 24 hours at 8:30 pm (0130 GMT Monday), the Baltimore-based institution said, bringing the overall total to 19,107,675 cases. The grim new milestone comes just six days after the US crossed the 18 million case threshold. The US […]

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Fauci: US Covid outbreak may worsen after holidays

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci warned Sunday the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come, driving the country to a “critical point” as holiday travel spreads the coronavirus. “I share the concern of President-elect (Joe) Biden that as we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse,” the infectious disease specialist told CNN. Biden cautioned on Wednesday that the nation’s “darkest days are ahead […]

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Trump, under pressure, signs $900 bn Covid relief bill

by Jerome CARTILLIER WEST PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — After delaying for nearly a week and under pressure from all sides, US President Donald Trump finally signed a massive $900 billion stimulus bill Sunday, in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic. The package “providing coronavirus emergency response and relief” is part of a larger spending bill that, with Trump’s signature, will avoid a government shutdown on […]

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Canada detects first coronavirus variant cases: health officials

  MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — The first two cases of a particularly infectious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in Canada, health authorities said Saturday. “The cases are a couple from Durham with no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts,” Barbara Yaffe, acting chief medical officer for Ontario, said in a statement. The couple have been placed in isolation, according to the statement, the same day that Ontario reimposed a […]

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Biden warns of ‘devastating consequences’ of Trump block on pandemic relief

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President-elect Joe Biden warned Saturday of “devastating consequences” if President Donald Trump continues to delay signing a Covid-19 economic relief bill passed by Congress. Biden spoke out as millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire after Trump threw a long-awaited pandemic aid package into doubt — demanding lawmakers more than triple the $600 direct payments to US taxpayers. “This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. Today, about […]

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One million vaccinated as US eyes return to normal next summer

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than a million Americans have received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccines, a senior official said Wednesday, as the US eyes a return to normal by next summer. The news comes as the winter surge in cases rages across the country, where the virus has claimed more than 320,000 lives and is on course to be the third leading cause of death in the year. Centers for Disease […]

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Mexico to receive first batch of coronavirus vaccines

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico will receive its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday. “What they are confirming to us is that the first shipment to Mexico will arrive tomorrow,” he said. The first 1.4 million doses of the vaccine produced by the partnership between US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech will arrive from Belgium. Mexico has been promised 34.4 million doses by […]

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Biden says he will ask Congress to pass another Covid relief bill

WILMINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday he will ask the US Congress to pass another Covid-19 relief bill after taking office in January. “Congress did its job this week. And I can and I must ask them to do it again next year,” Biden said in a pre-holiday address to the American people. Biden was speaking a day after lawmakers approved a $900 billion relief package that will provide a long-sought […]

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US warship sails by China-claimed Spratly Islands

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An American warship sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, in the latest challenge to Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the region. Guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Spratly Islands,” the US Seventh fleet said in a statement. “This freedom of navigation operation… upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in […]

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US Congress approves $900 billion stimulus package

by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US lawmakers on Monday approved a $900 billion relief package for the world’s biggest economy that will provide a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Overwhelming approval in the Senate and House of Representatives cleared the way for the legislation to be sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. Trump signed a stopgap measure early Tuesday to […]

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