TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s COVID-19 vaccine chief has blamed a rigid drug approval system for a slow inoculation campaign that is relying on only one approved shot, as a fourth wave of infections raises worries amid preparations for the Summer Olympics. Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccines, took responsibility for the public frustration […]

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian province of Ontario will stop offering first doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine because of evidence that the risk of rare blood clots is somewhat higher than previously estimated, provincial officials said on Tuesday. “This decision was made out of an abundance of caution due to an observed increase in the […]

SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian states halted vaccination of pregnant women on Tuesday after a death in Rio de Janeiro led health regulator Anvisa to warn against the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for expecting mothers. A pregnant woman in Rio de Janeiro died after receiving the AstraZeneca shot, according to state Health […]

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. State health officials today shared plans to distribute Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds after the FDA authorized its use in this age group late Monday. Some states hope to start the vaccinations as early as Thursday, officials said at an Association […]

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Kizzmekia Corbett looks on at the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. The US government scientist who helped design one of the first COVID-19 vaccines and then tackled skepticism of the shots in communities of color is moving […]

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. BABB, Montana (AP) — On a cloudy spring day, hundreds lined up in their cars on the Canadian side of the border crossing that separates Alberta and Montana. They had driven for hours and camped out in their vehicles in hopes […]

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s COVID-19 vaccination program is being put at risk by people failing to show up for their second shot, with 1.5 million people missing appointments for the follow-up dose needed to maximize protection, according to the Health Ministry. Specialists say that is particularly concerning after a recent real-world study from […]

OSLO (Reuters) — Norway will offer those who have received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 to take an injection from an mRNA vaccine as their second dose, the health ministry said on Friday. Norway on March 11 suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine after a small number of younger people were […]

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Use of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine should resume in the United States for all adults 18 and over, an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided Friday. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel […]