Pfizer shots will be sent to New York, where emissaries and their families will be vaccinated; another shipment already planned for second doses

Active cases dips below 30,000 for the first time since September as basic preproduction number continues to drop

Limit on just 3,000 entries a day maintained, however; as infection rates continue to fall, Edelstein sees no need for Passover restrictions; Gallant calls for all schools to open

Curfew fails to quell rising infections among Palestinians; health official: 'There's been nothing like this since the beginning of the pandemic'

Health officials attribute reluctance to go back for final dose to wariness over side effects after initial injection, misinformation about vaccines

Countries prod Biden administration to release supply of AstraZeneca vaccines, noting America has enough doses to immunize its entire population by end of July

The US has now spent more on the pandemic than on the military effort in World War II, and has lost more people than US combat deaths of all of the last century's wars

Widely shared Twitter posts falsely claim Pfizer shot killed elderly Israelis; misinformation superspreaders shift tactics to avoid the axe

Italy returns to lockdown as infections surge; Austria alleges some countries signed 'secret contracts' with vaccine makers; US, Japan, India, Australia form joint initiative

Health officials pleasantly surprised to see 'significant decline' in virus despite economy being almost fully open this week, optimistic about close-to-normal holiday celebrations