In Peru, authorities allowed secret burials of virus victims

IQUITOS, Peru — When Adriana Wong reached the field in the Amazon forest, she was confused. There were dozens of crosses planted in the red soil, but nothing to distinguish her father’s grave. “Are you sure my dad is there?” the 9-year-old asked her mother. Glendy Hernández had no answers. Almost a year ago, her […]

France's limited lockdown beset by glitches as cases rise

PARIS — Residents of Paris and several other regions of France spent their first weekend under a limited monthlong lockdown. While the French government insisted the rules would be less strict than in the past, the measures have been criticized as messy. A travel authorization certificate posted online was so ridiculed by French media for […]

Mexico: 2.7M U.S. vaccine doses to arrive next week

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s top diplomat said Friday the U.S. will send 2.7 million doses of unused AstraZeneca vaccine next week, and acknowledged continuing questions about whether Mexico agreed to close its southern border in exchange. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said, “There are people who ask me ‘what did they get in exchange?’”. Ebrard […]

New variant may not have changed COVID-19 pandemic course in UK, says study

With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the world entered a phase of social restrictions which limited routine social and economic activities covering a wide spectrum, accompanied by a soaring and often overwhelming disease and death toll. A new study, released on […]

Landmark Covid relief law pumps more than $100 billion into public health

Acknowledging that chronic underfunding of public health contributed significantly to the nation's fragmented response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats included more than $100 billion in the recently enacted relief package to address urgent needs and enhance future efforts. "The pandemic has given us possibly the best chance we've ever had of getting on the right […]

Thai PM gets AstraZeneca jab, 1 Asian country suspends

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister received a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca on Tuesday, as much of Asia shrugged off concerns about reports of blood clots in some recipients in Europe, saying that so far there is no evidence to link the two. Many countries using the vaccine also said the benefits […]

Study suggests COVID-19 vaccine acceptance on the rise in UK

A team of researchers in the UK – namely, Ben Ansell (Oxford), Martin W. Bauer (LSE), Jane Gingrich (Oxford), and Jack Stilgoe (UCL) – recently conducted a two-wave survey on the hesitancy of individuals to receive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Study: Coping With Covid: Two-Wave Survey (a study of vaccine hesitancy statistics in the […]