Author: Zeke Miller
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U.S. to require vaccines for all border crossers in January
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce Tuesday. An administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers…
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U.S. offers investment to boost global COVID vaccine capacity
WASHINGTON • Pressed to address gaping inequality in global COVID-19 vaccines, the Biden administration took steps Wednesday to make billions of dollars available to drugmakers to scale up domestic production to share with the world and prepare for the next pandemic. Under the new initiative, the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is soliciting…
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U.S.-China tensions evident as Biden heads to summits
WASHINGTON • For nine months under President Joe Biden, the U.S. has pursued a diplomatic strategy that could be characterized as about China, without China. On security, trade, climate and COVID-19, the Biden White House has tried to reorient the focus of the U.S. and its allies toward the strategic challenges posed by a rising…
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Border residents rejoice as U.S. says it will lift travel ban
SAN DIEGO • Beleaguered business owners and families separated by COVID-19 restrictions rejoiced Wednesday after the U.S. said it will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze. Travel across land borders from Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to workers whose jobs are deemed essential. New rules will…
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Biden doubles U.S. global donation of COVID-19 vaccine shots
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States is doubling its purchase of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots to share with the world to 1 billion doses as he embraces the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population within the next year. The stepped-up U.S. commitment marks the cornerstone of the global vaccination…
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‘Your refusal has cost all of us:’ sweeping new vaccine mandates for 100 million Americans
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant. Speaking at the White House, Biden emotionally laid into the roughly 80…
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U.S. likely to authorize COVID booster shots
WASHINGTON • After struggling for months to persuade Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. health officials could soon face a fresh challenge: talking vaccinated people into getting booster shots to gain longer-lasting protection as the delta variant sends infections soaring again. As early as Wednesday, U.S. health authorities are expected to recommend an extra…
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Takeaways from Biden-Putin summit: Skepticism, respect
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden’s first overseas trip put his diplomatic and negotiating philosophy on display, as he rallied traditional U.S. democratic allies to confront new and old challenges and offered an often rosy take on the possibilities of cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a one-on-one summit. Here are some key takeaways: A…
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U.S. to swiftly boost global vaccine sharing
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate a first tranche of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the U.N.-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad and more than ample supplies at home. The doses…
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Biden orders more Intel investigation of COVID-19 origin
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory. After months of minimizing that possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is joining worldwide pressure for China to be…