Anthony Fauci

President Joe Biden ordered U.S. intelligence officials to "redouble" their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory.

The hard-hit United States has passed a hopeful milestone as half its adults have had at least one COVID vaccine dose and from April 19 all its over 18s will be eligible to get their shot.

President Joe Biden on Jan. 25 reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders. He also added South Africa to the list.

New U.S. President Joe Biden warned the worst of the pandemic is still to come, as the number of American coronavirus deaths surpassed the country's troop fatalities in World War II.

US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been chosen as Time magazine's 2020 "Person of the Year," the publication announced Thursday.

The Democratic pair were chosen ahead of three other finalists: frontline health care workers and Anthony Fauci, the racial justice movement, and President Donald Trump who Biden defeated in November's election. 

U.S. coronavirus cases crossed the 15 million mark on Tuesday as regulators moved a step closer to approving a COVID-19 vaccine and Britain started inoculating people, offering hope of slowing a pandemic that killed 15,000 Americans in the last week alone.

However, health experts warn that the worst is yet to come, reports Index.hr.
The U.S. government and health experts have warned that the death toll will rise in the coming weeks and months as people travel and meet with families during the New Year and Christmas holidays, despite health service warnings.

He said that he has "great faith" in the state regulators of Great Britain.
Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sparked controversy with an earlier statement that British health regulators had not researched the study data as carefully as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The world passed the grim milestone of 1.5 million coronavirus deaths on Dec. 3, as several nations planned to deliver much hoped-for vaccines early next year to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions.

Fauci, a leading US epidemiologist, says that Britain was not as careful in the examination as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did in its review. "U.S. FDA performs research in the right way", Fauci said in an interview with Fox News.
"We are really examining the data very carefully to guarantee the American public that this is a safe and effective vaccine", he said.