EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — In another effort to get Americans to test for COVID-19 this winter, the Biden administration announced it would begin distributing tests for free to all school districts nationwide. Schools will be able to place orders for the tests, with deliveries arriving within about two weeks of ordering. In a letter sent by
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LAs CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) — Starting Monday, September 25, every U.S. household can again place an order to receive four free COVID-19 rapid tests, delivered directly to their home. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the COVIDtests.gov program has distributed over 755 million tests to American households, 310 million of which
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Three years after the first confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, El Pasoans are reflecting on the solemn anniversary. On March 13, 2020, the first confirmed case of the coronavirus was reported. In the days after, the number of positive cases continued to climb and hospitalizations soared. El Paso leaders were
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Originally Published: 28 FEB 23 20:46 ETUpdated: 28 FEB 23 23:44 ETBy Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday acknowledged that the bureau believes the Covid-19 pandemic was likely the result of a lab accident in Wuhan, China.In his first public comments on the FBI’s investigation into the virus’ origins during an
Continue Reading Originally Published: 27 FEB 23 20:48 ETUpdated: 27 FEB 23 21:32 ETBy Jessie Yeung and Kathleen Magramo, CNN (CNN) — Hong Kong, one of the last major international cities requiring face masks, on Tuesday announced it will end its controversial mandate nearly three years after it was enacted to prevent the spread of Covid-19.The mandate, enforced
Continue Reading (CNN) — The House voted on Thursday to pass sweeping legislation that would authorize $858 billion in national defense funding and rescind the US military’s Covid vaccine mandate. The measure passed with wide bipartisan support with a tally of 350 to 80. House lawmakers approved a final negotiated version of the National Defense Authorization Act
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Finding a free Covid test, whether it’s at home or a clinic, may soon be a thing of the past. The United States has spent trillions of dollars during the pandemic. That money is almost gone and what’s left of the funding is expected to be used up early next year. The Biden Administration has
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A new study offers some hope for a treatment of long Covid. Paxlovid, the antiviral pill that reduces the risk of hospitalization and death from Covid-19, also reduces the risk of long Covid, according to a new study by researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. 9,000 veterans took Paxlovid within the first five days of
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EL PASO, Texas — The City of El Paso is rolling out new COVID-19 testing kiosks throughout the city starting Friday, one is already available. The kiosks allow users to provide a nasal swab specimen with results provided within 48 hours from the test date. According to the city, most kiosks will be open 24
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By Carma Hassan, CNN About 11.5 million people in the United States have gotten an updated Covid-19 booster, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but more people need to prepare for fall and winter by getting their shots now, health officials said Friday. White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr.
Continue Reading By Marnie Hunter and Forrest Brown, CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer maintain a country-by-country list of travel advisories related to Covid-19, the agency said Monday. “As fewer countries are testing or reporting Covid-19 cases, CDC’s ability to accurately assess the Covid-19 THN [Travel Health Notice] levels for most
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EL PASO, Texas — Starting Tuesday, El Pasoans will be able to receive the newly approved Bivalent Covid-19 booster shots at any of the city’s Covid-19 clinics. The new booster shot is meant to target the omicron subvariant BA.5 as well as the original strain of Covid-19 is still around. The Center for Disease Control
Continue Reading By Zachary B. Wolf, CNN President Joe Biden made multiple unequivocal and controversial statements in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday. Among them: The coronavirus pandemic is over. The US would defend Taiwan if China invaded the island. The US would punish Russia if President Vladimir Putin resorted to chemical or nuclear weapons
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By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed updated COIVD-19 boosters. The decision opens the way for a fall vaccination campaign that could blunt a winter surge if enough Americans roll up their sleeves. The new boosters targeting today’s most common omicron strains should begin arriving in pharmacies
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GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally continued to fall nearly everywhere in the world in what the World Health Organization described as a “welcome decline” at a media briefing on Wednesday. The U.N. health agency said there were 4.5 million new COVID-19 cases reported last week, a 16%
Continue Reading By Jacqueline Howard, CNN The US Food and Drug Administration authorized Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine on Friday for emergency use in adolescents. It is the fourth coronavirus vaccine available in the United States and, unlike the others, is uses a protein-based technology. The vaccine was authorized for adults in July. With the latest emergency use authorization,
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First lady Dr. Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, her spokesperson said Tuesday. “After testing negative for Covid-19 on Monday during her regular testing cadence, the First Lady began to develop cold-like symptoms late in the evening. She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus as new variants challenge the nation’s efforts to resume normalcy after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden was experiencing “mild symptoms” and has begun taking Paxlovid,
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EL PASO, Texas– In 18 states that shared data through the current school year, the number of homeschooling students increased by 63% in the 2020-2021 school year, then fell by only 17% in the 2021-2022 school year, the AP reported. That is above pre-pandemic levels, despite the return of in-person learning. According to the U.S.
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EL PASO, Texas — With Covid-19 infections on the rise, many people will be using at-home rapid tests. Local experts, however, are recommending you double check the back of the box for an expiration date. Dr. Armando Meza, chief of infectious diseases at Texas Tech University Health Science Center of El Paso, told ABC-7 at-home
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — More El Pasoans are using at-home rapid tests, but less than one percent of new positive Covid-19 cases come from them, according to a city spokesperson. The test posing somewhat of a challenge for the health department. “This is negligible and therefore does not provide a good data point.” City/County Health
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Covid cases are rising and the city is seeing more hospital admissions. The city is rated as having a “high” community risk level due to the number of hospitalizations. Since the beginning of May, cases have increased from 30 to 320 new cases, over a 7-day rolling average. That’s according to
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EL PASO, Texas — More than two years since the start of the pandemic, the Borderland’s youngest population can now get a Covid-19 vaccine. Vaccines for children under 5 years old are finally being rolled out at different sites across the city. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna and Pfizer’s shots over the weekend,
Continue Reading By Jacqueline Howard, CNN The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are now authorized for emergency use in young children. The US Food and Drug Administration expanded the authorizations for the vaccines Friday to include children as young as 6 months. However, shots can’t be given until the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine
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EL PASO, Texas — The Covid-19 pandemic left the health care industry with a lingering problem: staffing shortages. Hospitals across the borderland are not only working on finding people to work, but keeping them too. University Medical Center is just one those local hospitals trying to get creative when it comes to incentivizing staff. There are
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EL PASO, Texas — Many experts are sounding the alarm about a mental health crisis in kids and teens. Not only are they grappling with another mass shooting, they’ve also had to deal with the pandemic for more than two years now. A high school counselor told ABC-7 throughout the school year she’s seen an
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Three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots. The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to vaccinate their
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EL PASO, Texas — Coco the therapy dog is back to giving snuggles after more than two and a half years. Del Sol Medical Center welcomed her back this month for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “She was working here about three months prior to COVID, and once COVID hit
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – On Thursday, 40 seniors from Rio Grande Preparatory Institute were rehearsing for the real thing happening this weekend. At the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces, Rio Grande and 5 other high schools will be reaching the major milestone in one’s life – their high school diploma. ABC-7 spoke to
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By ZEKE MILLER and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 cases are increasing in the United States — and could get even worse over the coming months, federal health officials warned in urging areas hardest hit to consider reissuing calls for indoor masking. Increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are putting more
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