NEW YORK (AP) – Can I stop wearing a mask after getting a COVID-19 vaccine? No. For a couple reasons, masks and social distancing will still be recommended for some time after people are vaccinated. To start, the first coronavirus vaccines require two shots; Pfizer’s second dose comes three weeks after the first and Moderna’s […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In a welcome sign that unemployed kitchen staff from restaurants and hotels can still find gainful employment, the Noble Energy company which runs the oil rig Leviathan in Israel’s territorial waters has hired 40 chefs and 30 members of kitchen staff who had been dismissed from hotels and restaurants due to coronavirus. […]

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that Israel will begin vaccinating the public against the coronavirus on Dec. 27, making it one of the first countries in the world to innoculate its citizens. He spoke just hours after the United Arab Emirates said a Chinese coronavirus vaccine tested […]

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s health regulator on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, days ahead of possible approval in the United States. Health Canada posted on it is website that the vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech is authorized. The vaccine already has been approved by the United Kingdom and Bahrain and officials […]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home. The second-term Democrat said a routine test on Tuesday detected the coronavirus. “I have no symptoms and am feeling well,” Wolf said in a statement. “I am following CDC and Department of Health guidelines.” […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — As Israel grapples with coronavirus and tries to prevent a third lockdown, the first batch of 4,000 Pfizer coronavirus vaccines arrived in Israel Wednesday morning. The vaccines came directly from the “hub” of the DHL company in Brussels, where they were placed under the intensely cold conditions required during the entire supply […]

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s government is under pressure to change its restrictive rules on religious services during the coronavirus crisis after the country’s highest court said the measures impede constitutional conditions on freedom of religion. The Council of State ruled that, at least temporarily, the government needs to change its measures so that a possible […]

NEW YORK(AP)— This is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform. CLAIM: The head of research at Pfizer says the COVID-19 vaccine causes female sterilization because it contains a spike protein […]

LONDON (AP) — U.K. regulators said Wednesday that people who have a “significant history’’ of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the National Health Service in England, said […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Gidon Sa’ar, a former education minister and prominent member of the Likud party, has for many years been touted as a possible successor to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. This may explain why he has been sidelined for so long by the prime minister. In the latest Likud primaries Sa’ar, who is […]