An experimental vaccine that could protect millions of people living in the American Southwest from valley fever —an infection caused by a soil-dwelling fungus that is difficult to treat and can cause disability and death—has passed its first test of efficacy and is moving toward federal approval, possibly within two years.

This outbreak isn’t Covid; it is a parallel, hidden pandemic, a deadly animal disease called African swine fever that was detected in the Dominican Republic in July.

This morning, Pfizer/BioNTech submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration from its clinical trial of a Covid vaccine for children, launching a process that could deliver doses to kids between 5 and 11 within the next month or two.

Soon after the White House announced a sweeping new array of Covid-19 policies last week, vaccine mandates chief among them, some states began speaking out in opposition to the national directives.

Fox News' Tucker Carlson defended Minaj’s tweet, saying “our media and public health officials didn’t like [it] because they make their livings bullying people.” The White House offered to connect Minaj with doctors to talk about her concerns.

Biden announces additional mandates, researchers probe new shots and treatments, and global vaccine distribution falters.During the pandemic, the pressure of caring for people sick with Covid has undermined years of progress in preventing these kinds of infections.

And the US Department of Education is investigating five states over concerns that their mask mandate bans could be discriminatory against students with disabilities and health conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19.As pediatric cases rise, some parents, physicians, and scientists have been debating the ethics of vaccinating kids by prescribing shots “off-label,” or offering a drug for a reason or to a group not studied during the approval process.

“It is a little bit confusing that the public is told at one point that the vaccine is effective enough that they can pretty much ditch their mask anywhere, and now, this is clearly a different recommendation because of the very high transmissibility of the Delta variant,” Dan Diekema, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, says.

I support off-label use in children under 12,” a pediatric infectious disease specialist in Minnesota posted on Twitter, while one in Indiana countered: “I'm eager for kids (under) 12 to get a Covid-19 vaccine, but feel we must have the Phase III data and an FDA EUA or approval first.”.

As media literacy expert Mike Caulfield notes, tropes flatten a scene to its essential bits, stripping out details to compel us to jump to a conclusion (the heroine will get out of her car!)

More institutions and companies are now mandating vaccinations , particularly since the FDA granted Pfizer and BioNTech’s shot full approval.Pfizer and BioNTech have struck a new deal with Eurofarma, a Brazilian pharmaceutical company, to make doses of their Covid-19 vaccine in and for Latin America.

Despite the hastily called press conference on Tuesday, the late-night meetings, and the growing worry over a potentially fatal side effect, the decision to pause the use of one of the three Covid-19 vaccines available in the United States was a relatively easy one.

Across dozens of Arabic pages and groups, dangerous conspiracy theories about the pandemic are racking up millions of views and likes.Between January 1 and February 28, ISD researchers found 18 Facebook pages and ten groups sharing pandemic-related misinformation and conspiracy theories in Arabic.

Researchers trace new variants in Africa, cases surge in India, and US vaccine rollout progresses even with snags.Scientists in Africa race to find new variants in areas where testing lags.

Many VCs expect the immediate payoffs will be for startups in categories like entertainment and travel, sectors where people will want to spend their money post-vaccine.“There are huge markets to seize right now,” says Kim-Mai Cutler, a partner at Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture firm.

What is being discussed is more like the World Health Organization’s “yellow card.” That document’s actual name is the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, a form that was created in the 1930s to indicate that travelers have received certain vaccines but that isn’t certified by individual governments.

President Biden sets a new vaccination goal, Europe curbs its vaccine exports, and experts caution against a hasty return to “normal.” Here’s what you should know: Want to receive this weekly roundup and other coronavirus news?

Last week, Check Point researchers based in Israel attempted to buy the Sinopharm vaccine from one vendor, said Ekram Ahmed, a spokesperson for the company.Dark web vendors are probably doing better business selling falsified vaccine cards and negative test results.

The pandemic has raged for a year, vaccine trials contend with approved shots, and Biden signs a $1.9 trillion relief bill.As the vaccine rollout accelerates, drugmakers are facing a new dilemma : getting people to sign up for trials for new shots, where they might get a placebo instead of the real thing.

It will send you phone notifications to fill out an easy survey in the days andweeks after getting your vaccine, asking about any symptoms you've experienced and notifying you when you should get your second dose.Check if your local or state health department offer a standby list for extra vaccinations.

The first Johnson & Johnson shots are administered, some states begin opening prematurely, and new variants demand vigilance.

The easiest way to prevent the spread in the community is to vaccinate as many people as possible at the same time that you stick to the public health measures of wearing masks, of avoiding close contact, of avoiding congregate settings.

Charlatanism lives in many rooms, including the ones that brought me onto Clubhouse in December: debates around Covid, and especially the vaccine.

And because infections—especially asymptomatic ones—are more likely to be detected in the group that’s testing more frequently, the estimated 89.4 percent transmission-blocking effect of the vaccine is almost certainly too optimistic (a caveat the authors acknowledged, saying more research is needed to confirm their findings).

This week, harsh winter weather swept the country and caused a huge number of problems, including delaying the shipments of hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses across the country.

The offers ranged from Facebook page operators willing to ship Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine—which is not authorized for use in the United States—from China, to apparent scammers on Telegram claiming to have access to Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca’s vaccines.

Oxford releases new data on vaccine efficacy against UK strain, Johnson & Johnson seeks FDA approval, and the US Senate passes a key resolution for coronavirus aid.The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine protects against the UK variant, while the FDA drafts new plans for dealing with mutations.

A climate Warp Speed could use the organizational oomph of our government and military to bring clean energy to every federal building nationwide.(They did this during Operation Warp Speed for vaccine-component firms.)

Scott DiMauro, the president of Ohio’s largest teachers’ union, said even a widely distributed vaccine is “not a panacea,” noting that CDC distancing guidelines, which compel low-density classes and hybrid schedules, should continue through the end of the school year regardless of teacher vaccinations.

This story originally appeared on WIRED UK.The videos all made the same claims: both Skelton and Desselle had been vaccinated for Covid-19 shortly before developing their tremors, and the vaccine, they alleged, was to blame.