Secretary of State Anthony Blinken criticized the Chinese government for its lack of transparency in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday's "Meet the Press," and called for a more thorough investigation into the of the origins of COVID-19.
The maskless woman who coughed on another customer in a Florida Pier 1 last June was sentenced to 30 days in jail Thursday for second-degree assault, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The incident, which illustrates the polarized tension surrounding mask-wearing, took place in June 2020 when COVID-19 cases were surging. A number of videos showing customers refusing to wear masks in stores went viral at the time.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's director said Saturday authorities are considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines because the country's domestically made doses "don't have very high protection rates," per AP.
Why it matters: The remarks by the Gao Fu at a news conference in the southwestern city of Chengdumark mark the first time a Chinese health official has spoken publicly about the low efficacy of vaccines made in China.
The big picture: A foreign-born Latino worker in California is 11.6 times more likely to died from COVID-19 than any other non-Hispanic U.S.-born group, according to a new USC study.
Iran on Saturday began enforcing tightened COVID restrictions nationwide as the number of coronavirus cases surged.
Driving the news: The country on Friday recorded 22,478 coronavirus cases, its highest single-day total, according to Al Jazeera. Health officials confirmed more than 19,660 cases on Saturday, as the surge in new infections follows last month's Iranian holiday celebrations.
A new study uses a brain-computer interface (BCI) to observe the neural activity in monkeys during the process of learning.
Why it matters: The internal state of the brain is often a mystery — including to ourselves — but new neural interfaces are making it easier for scientists to observe the mind in action.
The head of the world's leading genetic sequencing company predicts a future where genomic data will increasingly drive health care.
Why it matters: As our ability to read genes gets faster and cheaper, genetic sequencing could pave the way for everything from enhanced disease surveillance to truly personalized care.
Brazil is facing a "raging inferno of an outbreak," Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to the director general of the World Health Organization, warned Friday as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths across the country soars.
Driving the news: The surge, driven in part by relaxed mitigation measures and a more contagious local variant, has overwhelmed the country's health system. Brazil this week confirmed more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in a 24-hour period for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
