Before COVID-19, the United States considered itself one of the best-prepared countries in the world for a health crisis. The pandemic proved otherwise. One year into the crisis, more than half a million Americans have died. VOA’s Steve Baragona has …
Britain opened all its schools Monday. The openings come as the country has experienced some of its lowest coronavirus death tolls since October.Vietnam began its COVID-19 vaccination program Monday with its front-line health care workers as the first recipients of …
There is a call for an amnesty for the estimated 100,000 undocumented workers in Australia because of fears they could miss out on the coronavirus vaccine.They are an unseen workforce in Australia, from cleaning to hospitality and farm work. Of …
March 11 marks a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. The Middle East was one of the first regions to be hit outside China – and as Henry Ridgwell reports, the pandemic has …
The United States is marking one year since the first stay-at-home orders went into effect because of the coronavirus pandemic; but, returning to normal is happening slowly as Michelle Quinn reports. Producer: Mary Cieslak …
Cameroon says two polio cases discovered in the capital, Yaoundé, three weeks ago are a consequence of people refusing to inoculate their children for fear of being infected by COVID-19. The central African state has redeployed health teams to all …
In recent weeks, as Africa prepared to mark the milestone of one year since the coronavirus reached its shores, millions of doses of long-awaited vaccine finally began to arrive across the continent. Most were provided by the global COVAX Facility, …
Africa’s year with the pandemic has been a challenging one, full of suspense and surprises. VOA’s Anita Powell looks back at the continent’s bout with the virus, which has infected at least 2.8 million people and killed about 72,000, according …
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday came one step closer to his first major political victory: passage of his coronavirus economic relief package.What is it? A $1.9 trillion bill that Democrats said would help the country defeat the coronavirus and …
Pharmaceutical giant Merck and an American laboratory announced progress Saturday in the design of an oral drug against COVID-19. Their antiviral has shown positive effects in reducing the viral load in current tests.”Knowing that there is an unmet need for …
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded more than 116 million global coronavirus cases. The U.S. is on the verge of having 30 million infections, followed by India with 11 million and Brazil with 10.8 million.Earlier this week, Brazilian President …
For more than a century, International Women’s Day has celebrated women’s achievements across the globe, overcoming persistent gender inequality. This year’s observance comes as the UN reports women, particularly women of color, face especially high rates of unemployment. VOA’s Esha …
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, thousands of families are struggling with deepening poverty and unemployment. A survey by the charity Twaweza shows 60% of Kenyan families can no longer afford three meals per day. Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi. Camera: Amos Wangwa …
The White House COVID-19 response team said Friday that all coronavirus vaccines currently available were safe and effective and urged Americans to take whichever one they had access to, after the mayor of Detroit reportedly declined an allocation of the …
The World Health Organization says it is using every measure it has to curb the spread of parallel Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of the biggest lessons learned from the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West …
The east-central African nation of Rwanda began its COVID-19 vaccination program Friday, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, making it the first African nation to administer the drug. The nation received 102,960 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 240,000 doses of AstraZeneca through the international …
A U.S. and a Japanese astronaut ventured out of the International Space Station (ISS) Friday, in the second of two spacewalks conducted this week to complete upgrades and repairs to the orbiting outpost. NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins and …
A Wall Street Journal report says World Health Organization investigators who recently visited China to determine the origins of the emergence of the COVID-19 virus will not release a promised interim report of their findings.The Journal account, published Thursday, said …
Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people’s willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday.Co-led by Imperial College London’s …
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station this week built the bones for much-needed power upgrades. Also, SpaceX took flight with and without success, and flaming space junk lights up Australian skies. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. …
Women’s rights activists in Kenya have welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s order revoking the ban blocking U.S. funding to women’s health organizations that provide abortion or abortion-related services. Critics say the so-called gag rule left women uninformed about safe options …
The World Health Organization’s Europe director reported Thursday that new COVID-19 cases rose 9% to just over a million in the region last week. Hans Kluge said it was the first increase in new infections after six weeks …
The World Health Organization says COVID-19 vaccine distribution in African countries is accelerating and hopeful signs are emerging that a significant proportion of Africa’s population will be covered by the end of the year. Latest figures put the number of …
Nearly 50 countries have either received or ordered at least one of the three Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines, according to an Associated Press survey. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo on the vaccine rollouts. …