Russia has become the first country to officially launch a massive immunization effort against the coronavirus, despite concerns about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. Russia provides the vaccine for free to people aged 18 to 60 who don’t suffer from chronic illnesses and aren’t pregnant or breastfeeding.
The British government has granted Pfizer a legal indemnity protecting it from being sued for possible side effects of its new coronavirus vaccine.
A Democratic group advising self-declared U.S. President-elect Joe Biden suggests that the new administration will curtail religious freedom. It proposes banning limiting Christian worship and outlawing creationism in education or work, among other measures.
Prof. Yossi Karko, director of the clinical research unit at Hadassah-University Medical Center, has warned that the data published by Moderna and Pfizer about their coronavirus vaccine candidates is limited.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with churches against California’s coronavirus gathering restrictions.
Israel may receive up to four million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine by the end of this month — enough for two million people — and the Health Ministry is preparing health maintenance organizations for the possibility of inoculating some 80,000 Israelis every day, Israeli TV networks reported Thursday.
Joe Biden said Thursday that he will ask Americans to commit to 100 days of wearing masks as one of his first acts as US president, stopping just short of the nationwide mandate he’s pushed before to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke Thursday for the first time since at least the 2020 election as Congress scrambles to strike a coronavirus stimulus deal and prevent a government shutdown.
The Knesset on Wednesday passed a bill to dissolve, setting the stage for the fourth round of national elections in two years as Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his Blue and White party broke from the coalition and voted in favor of the measure.
European legislator József Szájer, who co-authored Hungary’s new constitution banning gay marriage, has resigned after reportedly attending a gay sex party in Brussels.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday cheered Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s decision to throw his Blue and White party’s support behind a preliminary reading of a bill to dissolve the Knesset and call early elections.
China’s growing military power holds potential dangers for the transatlantic alliance, according to NATO’s civilian chief.
Britain came one step closer Tuesday to effectively forcing its citizens to take a coronavirus vaccine if they want their lives back.
A new wave of coronavirus infections is overshadowing the 35th anniversary of Europe’s border-free Schengen Area. France and Germany are among European Union member states facing significant challenges amid rising coronavirus infection in Europe ahead of Christmas.
California’s attorney general on Monday urged the Supreme Court to reject a petition from a group of California churches disputing the state’s coronavirus restrictions.
France will have to review the restrictions it created for worship attendance to combat the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Western European nation’s highest court.
A federal appeals court in Kentucky has upheld a state COVID-19 order issued by Gov. Andy Beshear to close religious and private schools in seeking to contain the spread of the virus, the Washington Examiner reports. In making its ruling, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a restraining order issued previously by the District Court against the closing of religious schools. The lawsuit was originally filed by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and the Danville Christian Academy, who argued that the closure of religious schools is unconstitutional.
Teams from Britain and the European Union resumed face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal Saturday, with both sides sounding gloomy about striking an agreement in the little time that remains.
Hungary and Poland’s prime ministers have vowed to uphold their veto of the European Union’s next budget — and its massive coronavirus pandemic relief fund. In Budapest, both leaders said they oppose a mechanism that ties payment of funds to the rule of law principles.
Pope Francis urged people to put others before themselves as the world struggles to come out of the coronavirus pandemic.