PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The federal government has told states to prepare for a coronavirus vaccine to be ready to distribute by Nov. 1. The timeline raised concern among public health experts about an “October surprise” — a vaccine approval driven by political considerations ahead of a presidential election, rather than science. In a letter […]

Mental health therapists’ caseloads are bulging. Waiting lists for appointments are growing. And anxiety and depression are rising among Americans amid the coronavirus crisis, research suggests. In the latest study to suggest an uptick, half of U.S. adults surveyed reported at least some signs of depression, such as hopelessness, feeling like a failure or getting […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) – In a call with Orthodox rabbis, the U.S. surgeon general encouraged the spiritual leaders to take precautions when planning High Holiday services this year. Dr. Jerome Adams also assured the rabbis that the pandemic would not last forever. “Dr. Fauci still feels strongly we’re going to have a vaccine for COVID by […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – Millions of Americans are counting on a COVID-19 vaccine to curb the global pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials […]

New studies confirm that multiple types of steroids improve survival for severely ill COVID-19 patients, cementing the cheap drugs as a standard of care. An analysis of pooled results from seven studies, led by the World Health Organization and published Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that steroids reduced the risk […]

UMAN, UKRAINE (VINnews) — In an attempt to persuade the Ukrainian authorities that all steps are being taken to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus during the coming Rosh Hashana gathering in Uman, the Breslav chasidim released a clip showing the strict precautions being taken by worshipers in Uman. The clip shows a chasid being checked […]

BNEI BRAK (VINnews) — Despite a number of yeshivos having suffered outbreaks of coronavirus, Hagaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievski maintains that if bochurim display symptoms of the virus while they are in the yeshiva, they should not undergo tests and their friends should not go into isolation. One of Rabbi Chaim’s associates explained his opinion to […]

ROSH HA’AYIN (VINnews) — Rafael Levi simply wanted to check up on the progress in constructing his new apartment. He did not dream for a moment that he would meet an armed Arab terrorist on the deserted building site who would stab him 28 times and leave him for dead. While he was lying severely […]

NEW YORK (AP)- Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found. Tuesday’s report, from tests on more than 30,000 people in Iceland, is the most extensive work yet on the immune system’s response […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — At the daily demonstrations taking place outside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s house in Balfour street in central Jerusalem, tens of thousands of demonstrators congregate, many of whom are not wearing masks. Yet police for some reason ignore this flagrant violation of coronavirus regulations and do not enforce the regulations. However Chareidim are constantly […]