Russian Campaign Promotes Homegrown Vaccine and Undercuts Rivals

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WASHINGTON (AP) — When a Halloween party sparked a COVID-19 outbreak at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, school officials conducted rapid screening on more than 1,000 students in a week, including many who didn’t have symptoms.

Although such asymptomatic screening isn’t approved by regulators and the 15-minute tests aren’t as sensitive as the genetic one that can take days to yield results, the testing director at the historically Black college credits the approach with quickly containing the infections and allowing the campus to remain open.

Mutated virus may reinfect people already stricken once with covid-19, sparking debate and concerns The finding, though far from conclusive, has potential implications for how the pandemic will be brought under control, underscoring the critical role of vaccination. Carolyn Y. Johnson, William Wan Washington Post

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Virus outbreaks stoke tensions in some state capitols JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — After only their first few weeks of work, tensions already are high among lawmakers meeting in-person at some state capitols — not because of testy debates over taxes,... AP NEWS

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — After only their first few weeks of work, tensions already are high among lawmakers meeting in-person at some state capitols — not because of testy debates over taxes, guns or abortion, but because of a disregard for coronavirus precautions.

Biden to use DPA to boost production of COVID-19 tests, gloves, The Biden administration will use wartime powers to significantly increase the supply of rapid at-home and point-of-care COVID-19 tests, a move some experts say could go a long way in slowing the Jessie Hellmann TheHill

The Biden administration will use wartime powers to significantly increase the supply of rapid at-home and point-of-care COVID-19 tests, a move some experts say could go a long way in slowing the spread of the virus.

The US government is expected to begin shipping Covid-19 directly to pharmacies next week, with one million doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine being allocated for the initial rollout.

The Biden administration announced this week that the vaccine rollout, called the federal retail pharmacy program, will launch on Feb. 11. The nation's pharmacies have the capacity to administer 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in 30 days, but will need enough doses to do so, according the NACDS.

AstraZeneca vaccine works against UK coronavirus variant: study The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine protects against a more transmissible variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom, according to research published Friday. Peter Sullivan TheHill

The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine protects against a more transmissible variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom, according to research published Friday.