WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will not lift any existing travel restrictions “at this point” due to concerns over the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant and the rising number of U.S. coronavirus cases, a White House official told Reuters. The decision, which comes after a senior level White House meeting late Friday, means the […]

PRINCETON, N.J./SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Reuters) – A COVID-19 surge ignited in parts of the United States by the highly contagious Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy has led to new mask mandates and deep confusion among some people about which guidance to follow. In Los Angeles County, leaders have reinstated an indoor mask mandate, even for […]

JAKARTA (Reuters) – In the teeming, impoverished North Jakarta neighbourhood of Muara Baru, people have made a grim joke out of the acronym for the Indonesian government’s lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic: PPKM. “Pelan Pelan Kita Mati,” Herdayati, a 48-year-old mother of six and sole breadwinner for a family living in a narrow, claustrophobic […]

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc on Monday announced positive results for its experimental antibody COVID-19 treatment that it said was safe and reduced the treatment period by nearly five days in Phase 3 global clinical trials. The trials, which involved 1,315 participants, have taken place since January in 13 countries, including in […]

SURAT, India (Reuters) – At least seven crematoriums and graveyards in India’s western city of Surat saw a more than three-fold rise in the number of cremations and burials last month compared with a year ago, suggesting many more COVID-19 fatalities than an official tally. The data, gathered from site visits and logs reviewed by […]

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian senators conducting a high-profile inquiry into President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday voted to recall the current and former health ministers for more testimony, as well as summon nine state governors for the first time. Senators are grilling government officials and other stakeholders to seek answers as […]

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian doctors on Wednesday decried the free distribution of an unproven remedy to COVID-19 patients by the state of Haryana as the maker of the herbal medicine faced a backlash over comments in which he said modern medicine had caused deaths. The northern state, which is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s […]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases who are on immunosuppressants may not mount a response to the SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccine, even after the second dose, and patients on B-cell modulating agents and mycophenolate appear particularly vulnerable. “While additional research is required, patients on immunosuppressants should be aware that they […]