JERUSALEM (VINnews) — As Israelis drag themselves for the fourth time in two years to the polling booth, there is no assurance that this election will end the political impasse which has been plaguing the country recently. The volatile nature of a political system in which the prime minister is dependent on tiny parties to […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — After a landmark Labor Court decision allowed employers to prevent workers who have not vaccinated or taken negative COVID-19 tests coming to work, a number of Israeli companies including communications giant Bezeq have annouced a new policy requiring workers to either vaccinate, take a test or take a vacation without pay from […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Exit polls from the three main television channels in Israel reveal that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may be able to form a coalition with right-wing parties which are his “natural” partners including the Chareidi parties but he will also have to rely on Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party which has refused to endorse […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed a soft-spoken physician as President Joe Biden’s surgeon general Tuesday. While Dr. Vivek Murthy says ending the coronavirus pandemic is his top priority, he’s also raised concerns over a relapsing opioid overdose crisis. The vote on Murthy was 57-43, giving him bipartisan support. Biden’s coronavirus response can already count […]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s governor announced Tuesday he would lift the statewide mask mandate and remaining COVID-19 business restrictions in two weeks. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a speech from his Statehouse office that the state’s steep declines in coronavirus hospitalization and deaths rates along with the growing number of people fully vaccinated justify […]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state residents over 30 will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations starting Tuesday, and everyone over 16 will be eligible starting April 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. A judge’s ruling later in the day widened the eligible pool even further, with a decision saying the state immediately had to […]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A year after becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection. Even as the vaccination campaign has ramped up, the number of new infections in New Jersey has crept up by 37% […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government’s first look at the real-world use of COVID-19 vaccines found their effectiveness was nearly as robust as it was in controlled studies. The two vaccines available since December — Pfizer and Moderna — were highly effective at 90% after two doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and a top health official warned Monday that too many Americans are declaring virus victory too quickly, appealing for mask requirements and other restrictions to be maintained or restored to stave off a “fourth surge” of COVID-19. The head of the CDC said she had a feeling of “impending […]

GENEVA (AP) — A joint World Health Organization-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press. The findings offer little new […]