Government

Army Reserve, Guard members who refused COVID vaccine banned from drills, About 40,000 members of the Army National Guard are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. YahooNews

The 40,000 members of the Army National Guard who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus after the deadline will not be allowed to participate in federal training, forfeiting future paychecks.

COVID cases up by more than 30% in Britain last week LONDON (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious omicron variants. AP NEWS

Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in the U.K. had COVID-19 last week, although there has not been an equivalent spike in hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 deaths also fell slightly in the last week.

A Florida man is accused of $2.5 million COVID-19 relief fraud A 34-year-old man was charged with one count of wire fraud after being accused of filing a fraudulent loan application in 2020. NPR.org

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Vinicius Santana, 34, a former Massachusetts resident, submitted four Paycheck Protection Program loan applications for the paint company he owned through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Omicron-specific COVID shots could increase protection as boosters - EMA Coronavirus vaccines tweaked to include the Omicron variant strain can improve protection when used as a booster, the European Medicines Agency and other global health regulators said on Friday. Reuters Reuters

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