Coronavirus

The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days. The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that […]

COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna is suing Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing its main competitors of copying Moderna’s technology in order to make their own vaccine. Moderna said Friday that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive shot, Spikevax. The company filed […]

First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House announced Tuesday. President Joe Biden continues to test negative after recently recovering from the virus but will wear a mask indoors for 10 days as a precaution. The Bidens have been vacationing in South Carolina since Aug. 10, and […]

State Attorney General Ashley Moody and other Republican politicians from across the country urged an appeals court this week to uphold a Florida federal judge’s ruling that blocked a mask requirement on airplanes and in other transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moody’s office, taking the lead in a brief filed by officials from 23 states, […]

Teachers are back in Lee County classrooms on Tuesday, with 450 new teachers joining the school district before classes start next Monday. Leaders with the School District of Lee County say nearly 100,000 students will be heading back to school next week. Teachers are getting their classrooms ready, and many feel a sense of premature […]

A man accused of selling a toxic industrial bleach as a coronavirus cure through his Florida-based church has been returned to the U. S. after being arrested in Colombia. Mark Grenon, 64, made his initial court appearance Thursday in Miami federal court following his recent extradition, according to court records. Grenon and his three adult […]

President Joe Biden looked forward to ending his COVID-19 isolation on Wednesday after testing negative for the virus on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning. He quickly arranged to deliver remarks in the Rose Garden around midday and to discuss his infection and his administration’s progress against the coronavirus pandemic and encourage those who […]

More than two million children in Florida get free and reduced meals, and kids who missed school because of the pandemic are eligible for more benefits, but the deadline is quickly approaching. Parents have to go to their child’s school and ask them to provide a document verifying their child was home because of COVID-19. […]

While only 70% of Americans over 50 have received a second COVID-19 shot, there’s a push for older people and the immunocompromised to get a second booster shot to stymie a further increase in cases. Data from the Mayo Clinic shows 311 average daily cases of COVID-19 in Lee County and 109 in Collier County. […]

Due to a recent increase in influenza, COVID-19 and other illnesses in Southwest Florida, Lee Health announced it is reducing the cost of urgent care telehealth visits through Lee TeleHealth from $49 to $20. Lee Health says it is temporarily discounting this service for community members so they can utilize urgent care telehealth services from […]