NEW YORK (AP) — Next week’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will still go on, just not with as many revelers as usual because of COVID-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. Viewing areas that normally accommodate about 58,000 people will be limited to about 15,000 to allow for more distancing, and everyone […]

Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact omicron spreads much faster than delta and is more […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel is implementing a new quarantine policy which will have a huge impact on incoming travelers, regardless of vaccination status. Rabbi Nechemia Malinowitz, Director of Igud Yeshivos and Seminaries for Bnei Chutz Laaretz , and Director of Eretz Hakodesh, said Wednesday that he was informed by officials about the policy change. Under […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami […]

JERUSALEM — An Israeli health official says experts have recommended administering a new round of coronavirus booster shots after seeing evidence that protection from an earlier booster campaign is beginning to wane. An advisory panel of health experts on Tuesday recommended to the government to begin giving booster shots to Israelis over 60 and health […]

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighborhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xi’an following a spike in coronavirus cases. State media reported that city officials ordered all residents to stay home unless they had a pressing reason to go out and suspended […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A treasure trove of rare archaeological artefacts has been revealed just 4 meters below the surface of the sea at Caesarea. The Marine Archeaology Division of the Israel Antiquities Authority found the remains of two ships which had sunk in shallow water near the port and various items from the wrecks were […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli news sources claimed Tuesday that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had requested three weeks ago to hold a telephone call with US president Joe Biden but had yet to receive an answer. After Channel 13 aired the claim, the prime minister’s office denied that there are any tensions between Israel and the […]

NEW YORK (JTA) – Before most New Yorkers had ever heard the word “coronavirus,” another public health scare dominated local news: the measles outbreak of 2019, which shared key parallels with the pandemic to come. In 2019, when the United States saw 1,282 reported measles cases — the highest number since 1992 — most them were concentrated in under-vaccinated Orthodox […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the omicron variant on the march, President Joe Biden plans to announce 500 million free rapid tests for Americans, increased support for hospitals under strain and a redoubling of vaccination and boosting efforts. In a speech scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, Biden is announcing major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his […]