WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that U.S. regulators extended the expiration date on millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by six weeks. The company said a Food and Drug Administration review concluded the shots remain safe and effective for at least 4 1/2 months. In February, the FDA originally authorized J&J’s […]

ST. IVES, England (AP) — President Joe Biden urged global leaders Thursday to join him in sharing coronavirus vaccines with struggling nations around the world after he promised the U.S. would donate 500 million doses to help speed the pandemic’s end and bolster the strategic position of the world’s wealthiest democracies. Speaking in England before […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug would raise Medicare premiums broadly, and some patients who are prescribed the medication could face copayments of about $11,500 annually, according to a research report published Wednesday. The drug, called Aduhelm, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration only this week. It’s the first Alzheimer’s medication […]

BERLIN (AP) — Germany on Thursday started rolling out a digital vaccination pass that can be used across Europe as the continent gets ready for the key summer travel season. The country’s health minister said starting this week vaccination centers, doctors practices and pharmacies will gradually start giving out digital passes to fully vaccinated people. […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — The state of Arizona has met with outraged reactions after it refurbished and tested a gas chamber which could be used on death row inmates. The experiments involved the use of hydrogen cyanide, which experts say could form the same poisoning as that found in Zyklon B, the lethal gas used […]

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s health minister says fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents who test negative for COVID-19 will soon be exempt from a two-week quarantine when returning to the country. Officials expect that to happen in early July. Air travelers who have received shots at least 14 days before entering Canada will be […]

NEW YORK (VINnews/Sandy Eller) – Governor Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to boost immunization rates in the state by highlighting zip codes with the lowest number of people vaccinated has had many in the Orthodox Jewish community taking umbrage, noting that the data is skewed, putting them in a bad light. Speaking at a Monday morning press […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A 37-year-old South African woman has reportedly given birth to ten babies in one birth, setting a Guinness world record just a month after a woman from Mali had delivered nine babies in Morocco, setting the previous known highest total of live children in one birth. The IOL news site reported […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The director and founder of the Efrat organization, Dr. Eli Shussheim, passed away Wednesday at the age of 80. Shussheim suffered a stroke last Shabbos and his condition deteriorated until his passing Wednesday. Shas leader Aryeh Deri expressed his sorrow at the passing of Shussheim and said that “with great sorrow I […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has asked Britain’s Prince Charles to intervene on behalf of Alte Fixsler, a 2-year-old Chareidi child from London who is on life support. Last week a British court ruled that the hospital can take Fixsler, who is in palliative care because she cannot breathe or eat without medical […]