COVID-19

U.S. news outlets say the Food and Drug Administration will soon allow Americans to receive a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine different from their original dose. The federal drug regulator is expected to announce the so-called “mix and match” strategy on Wednesday when it officially authorizes boosters of the two-dose …

Despite getting vaccinated against COVID-19, Colin Powell remained vulnerable to the virus because of his advanced age and history of cancer, highlighting the continued risk to many Americans until more of the population is immunized.  Powell, a four-star general who became the first Black secretary of state and chairman of …

The death of former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday from COVID-19 complications demonstrates why more people need to get vaccinated, experts note. Powell’s battle with cancer and his advanced age put him in a category most susceptible to COVID-19, the disease caused by the deadly coronavirus. These highly …

Recently, a U.S. advisory panel unanimously endorsed booster shots of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for adults over the age of 18. The move comes as vaccines and public health protocols in the United States remain politically charged issues. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.  Produced by:  Arash Arabasadi

Children in Australia’s largest city returned to in-person learning Monday as Sydney reached an important milestone in its fight against COVID-19.  Residents of New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, are slowly emerging from strict lockdown orders now that the rate of fully vaccinated people ages 16 and …

General Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state and a former chairman of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday from complications of COVID-19. He was 84.  His family announced his death in a Facebook posting, saying, “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather …

Recently, a U.S. advisory panel unanimously endorsed booster shots of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for adults over the age of 18. The move comes as vaccines and public health protocols in the United States remain politically charged issues. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser on Sunday defended vaccination mandates to combat the coronavirus, dismissing objections from conservative Republican state governors that they infringe on people’s freedom to control their  health care. “When you are in a public health crisis, sometimes unusual situations require unusual actions,” Dr. Anthony …

Union leaders have angrily reacted to the Zimbabwean government’s announcement Sunday that workers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer be allowed at work and will not be paid. This is seen as part of efforts to deal with high vaccination hesitancy in the southern African nation. …

The health outreach workers who drove past Lama Mballow’s village with a megaphone handed out T-shirts emblazoned with the words: “I GOT MY COVID-19 VACCINE!”     By then, the women in Sare Gibel already had heard the rumors on social media: The vaccines could make your blood stop or …