British regulator 1st to OK Moderna's updated COVID booster
British drug regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Modernaโs coronavirus vaccine that includes protection against the omicron variant, which the government said would now be offered to people aged 50 and over in the fall.
![Tourist who wrote โMadernaโ on COVID-19 vaccination card wanted after skipping Hawaii Zoom hearing](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/pnyeeLiBck_5TdXXJO1GH1TXAoQ=/800x313/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7KORIUF23NBRVBJXSSKKTESGLE.jpg)
Tourist who wrote โMadernaโ on COVID-19 vaccination card wanted after skipping Hawaii Zoom hearing
A Hawaii judge issued a bench warrant for an Illinois woman after she failed to appear for a virtual court hearing Wednesday following her arrest for an alleged fake COVID-19 vaccination card that misspelled Moderna as โMaderna.โ
![Misspelling of Moderna on fake COVID-19 vaccination card leads to touristโs arrest in Hawaii](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/pnyeeLiBck_5TdXXJO1GH1TXAoQ=/800x313/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7KORIUF23NBRVBJXSSKKTESGLE.jpg)
Misspelling of Moderna on fake COVID-19 vaccination card leads to touristโs arrest in Hawaii
A 24-year-old Illinois woman submitted a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to visit Hawaii with a glaring spelling error that led to her arrest: Moderna was spelled โMaderna,โ according to court documents.
![Vaccine deliveries rising as delta virus variant slams Asia](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/8v6-e_aJ1_t19DW7CwSx1yv9zPs=/800x533/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/H2BUCIN2SJHODCC7CKLMF4ZZ5E.jpg)
Vaccine deliveries rising as delta virus variant slams Asia
As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.
![The Latest: Australia official urges against AstraZeneca](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/1duXrmVhCqk5KutidKaIT1UC95g=/800x533/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/HBV3EECS5ZHGJGCJSWYFSCKXDQ.jpg)
The Latest: Australia official urges against AstraZeneca
The top health official in Australia's Queensland state is advising adults under age 40 not to take the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine because of the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder, even though the Australian government is making those shots available to all adults.
![Japan opens mass vaccine centers 2 months before Olympics](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/Z-QI9fILppQxHYzLm_BwJbFlaMs=/800x533/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/PJVLLJWMQNDENM4T4JHOT6HATU.jpg)
Japan opens mass vaccine centers 2 months before Olympics
Japan mobilized military doctors and nurses to give shots to elderly people in Tokyo and Osaka as the government desperately tries to accelerate its vaccination rollout and curb coronavirus infections just two months before hosting the Olympics.
![COVID vaccine found highly effective in real-world US study](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/moSh7_rQgZ_R2RLUS_zMByr137c=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/325NMNKIDFH75NYBAEA4DMIIIM.jpg)
COVID vaccine found highly effective in real-world US study
โWe have a vaccine thatโs working very well.โThe study is the governmentโs first assessment of how the shots have been working beyond the drugmakers' initial experiments. The study included roughly 2,500 volunteers who had completed two vaccine doses, about 500 who got one dose and about 1,000 who did not get vaccinated between mid-December and mid-March. Besides the 90% figure for two doses, the study found it was 80% effective for participants two weeks or more after a first dose. She added that over 93 million Americans have received at least one vaccine dose and over 51 million people have been fully vaccinated. The company said it expects to meet its next deadlines, of delivering another 100 million doses by the end of May and its final 100 million by the end of July.
![Hotline to register 65 and older for the vaccine extended in Roanoke Valley](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/_rEZh3npJ9TGGKuUeN068mdFjdg=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/03-26-2021/t_e8054c446930427787e8855a4cea7e72_name_image.jpg)
Hotline to register 65 and older for the vaccine extended in Roanoke Valley
ROANOKE, Va. โ While some areas are moving forward to Phase 1c with vaccine distribution, Roanoke Alleghany County Health District is still far from it. Waiting for more Johnson and Johnson vaccines, Dr. Cynthia Morrow said an extra 1,000 Moderna vaccines are expected to be added to the next shipment. A necessary supply as Morrow said a reduction of vaccine allocation from the state was not expected. โYou know all of us were a little bit disappointed when we learned the state allocation was 49,000 not the over 100,000 we were expecting,โ she said. Thatโs why on Wednesday a hotline was created to help register 65 and up.
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Michigan sees virus surge, but tighter restrictions unlikely
The infection resurgence is being fueled by loosened restrictions, a more infectious variant and pandemic fatigue. Gretchen Whitmer, who does not plan to tighten restrictions on indoor dining, sports and other activities that were eased in recent months. Michigan reported more than 5,200 new cases Thursday, the most in over three months. Dawn Misra, an epidemiology and biostatistics professor at Michigan State University. But the reopening was pushed off to April 12, after spring break, because of rising virus cases in the community.