COVID-19

This week, the world heard encouraging news about a vaccine for COVID-19.

On Monday, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and its partner BioNTech, said their experimental vaccine appears to work – and work quite well. A preliminary analysis suggests the vaccine is more than 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 symptoms.

Health officials hope to start vaccinating some Americans in a few months.

"The vaccine is on its way, folks," Dr. Anthony Fauci told a crowd Tuesday, via video link, outside Brooklyn Borough Hall.

But what about the rest of world, especially people in poorer counties. Is the vaccine "on its way for them?"

As the United States shatters record after record on coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, more warnings emerged from officials across the country urging residents to adjust their behavior and prepare for more possible changes on the horizon.

On the West Coast, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington urged their residents on Friday to avoid all nonessential interstate travel in the days ahead, joining their counterparts across the country in pleading with residents to take precautions.

In New York City, an early hot spot now facing a possible second wave, the mayor warned on Friday that public schools could close as early as Monday as the seven-day average positivity rate jumps. Private residential gatherings must be limited to 10 people beginning at 10 p.m.

Virus surge: Schools abandon classes, states retreat School systems in Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and suburban Minneapolis are giving up on in-person classes, and some governors are reimposing restrictions on bars and restaurants or getting... AP NEWS

School systems in Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and suburban Minneapolis are giving up on in-person classes, and some governors are reimposing restrictions on bars and restaurants or getting more serious about masks, as the coast-to-coast resurgence of the coronavirus sends deaths, hospitalizations and new infections soaring.