WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris aim to take their oaths of office outside the U.S. Capitol building as inauguration planners seek to craft an event that captures the traditional grandeur of the historic ceremony while complying with COVID-19 protocols. Biden’s team released some broad details for the Jan. 20 […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Rabbi Elimelech Firer, the famous Chareidi medical advisor whose advice is sought by tens of thousands of people in Israel, published an announcement in which he quoted the Gedolim in Israel as saying that “whoever has the option of vaccinating should do so.” Firer stressed that there was no danger in the […]

FALKENSEE, Germany (AP) — A German scientist who is part of a small team of experts assembled by the World Health Organization to investigate the origins of the coronavirus says they plan to sift through samples and medical data from China to help determine where the bug first jumped from animals to humans and which […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first home test for COVID-19 that doesn’t require a prescription will soon be on U.S. store shelves. U.S. regulators Tuesday authorized the rapid coronavirus test, which can be done entirely at home. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents another important — though incremental — step in efforts to […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal by alleged child sex abuser Malka Leifer who sought to prevent her extradition to Australia. The decision effectively paves the way for Leifer’s extradition after a decade-long legal battle to enable the procedure. The extradition request will now be decided by Israel’s justice minister, Avi […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris should be vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible. Speaking to ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Fauci said, “For security reasons, I really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A delegation from the UAE and Bahrain participated Monday night in the Chanukah lighting ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The ceremony was also attended by Health Minister Yuli Edelstein as well as other public figures. Edelstein said that “I wasn’t granted the right to light the fifth Chanukah candle. With […]

TORONTO (AP) — Canada administered its first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, becoming one of the first countries to do so in the effort to beat back the pandemic. Five front-line workers in Ontario were among the first Canadians to receive the vaccine at one of Toronto’s hospitals. Anita Quidangen, a personal support […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Contrary to spurious reports claiming that Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky and other prominent US rabbis oppose the Pfizer vaccines for COVID-19, Rabbi Kamenetzky issued a letter in which he states that he is not in favor or opposed to the vaccine and advises people to consult their personal doctor on whether to […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — NYC Mayor de Blasio said at his Monday press conference hat he agrees with recent comments made by Gov. Cuomo about preparing for possibility of a “full shutdown.” “We need to recognize that that may be coming and we’ve got to get ready for that now, because we cannot let this […]